A date has been set for a call-in meeting to decide whether the residents parking scheme should go to a full Bristol City Council vote.

The councils cabinet approved pilot zones for Brandon Hill, Clifton, and Kingsdown at a meeting last month but the Conservatives called it in.

This means another panel will meet to discuss the validity of the decision, which would see residents in two parts of the city having to pay for the right to park.

The meeting will take place on Monday, January 5, and will give the panel two options.

Councillors will either send the decision back to cabinet with any recommendations for further consideration, or they could insist it goes to the next full council meeting for a vote.

If given the go-ahead the proposal would see households having to pay £30 for one vehicle, £110 for two and £310 for three, and up to £50 on visitor parking passes.

The pilot schemes were approved following a consultation exercise during the summer.

Just over half of the people living in the two proposed zones said they needed the scheme as parking in their neighbourhoods is so difficult.

But opponents claim the pilots are the thin end of the wedge that could ultimately see the city become one big parking zone.

Stephen Perry is a member of campaign group Yes To Residents Parking In Clifton And Brandon Hill, and he was critical of the Tories when they decided to call in what he saw as the right decision.

He said: "We have been busy preparing ourselves for this meeting and will be distributing a leaflet to all 1,700 homes in our RPZ between Christmas and New Year.

"We plan to talk to the emergency services about the repeated troubles they've had gaining access to our area.

"Further, we are in touch now with people in the Kingsdown area and hope they will distribute the leaflet we've written in their RPZ.

"We think it would be a nonsense for the matter to be referred to a full council meeting, which has no power but would turn into a bear pit.

"It would be used as a vehicle for the Conservatives to court popularity throughout the city and would do nothing that would be in the interest of those who live in the two proposed RPZ areas.

"It's a cynical move on the part of the Conservatives, who are intimately aligned with the no campaign.

"Our campaign is gathering momentum and we will make sure our voice is heard loud and clear at the call-in committee."

The meeting is due to take place at 5.30pm at Council House, and the public can submit questions and statements beforehand.

Spokesman for the opposition campaigners Keeping Parking Free Bernard Cooke said: "This consultation exercise was carried out entirely during the summer holidays and has been widely condemned as biased and unfair.

"The Conservatives have called it botched, the Liberal Democrats have called it flawed and a sham or a shambles.

"This was confirmed by a well known polling organisation that told us the questionnaire lacked objectivity and makes unwarranted assumptions.

"It is simply unacceptable to base any decision on a flawed consultation.

"We hope good sense will prevail and the call in panel will refer the decision to the full council for proper consideration."