As has been pointed out, bikes will be asked to pay 50p per hour for a max 2 hr stay - is that really so awful??
I wouldn't like to pay to park my bike, but then if you go to a very popular and busy destination, it's kind of inevitable, no?
The best bit I guess is how will they monitor the bike parking charges?? I suspect it'll cost them far more than they can raise in revenue, and if it's 'pay and display' you could inundate them with paperwork by reporting the ticket was stolen....if every bike did that it'd soon become pretty pointless for the council to pursue them.
Not knowing the area I'm not sure just how difficult the situation is - but I do very much agree with jp's point about needing to get the rest of the driving world ON our side, not against us, and blocking the place with bikes because we're moaning we don't want to pay parking while the car drivers have always had to pay, isn't likely to win many friends....
I doubt bikes staying away will genuinely impact the businesses enough to make much of a difference - like it or not, we're a minority.
So, if you are going, great, good on you, but do please be an ambassador for bikes. Recognise that bikes have been getting away without paying for parking while everyone else has had to pay, and consider that if paying 50p to park up while you have a chippy and a cuppa is too much, maybe it's not the destination for you, and take your business elsewhere - hell, it's not like you can't enjoy the roads there, just buy food and drink elsewhere.