Residents and traders have expressed their dismay at a council’s decision to impose a three-hour time limit in busy car parks.
The restriction is now in force at multiple sites across Deal and at the Guildhall in Sandwich in a bid to keep more spaces available.
But it has sparked concerns that it could hit tourism and local businesses as people rush to get back to their cars, rather than enjoy a day out in the towns.
Bhavna Patel, of the Balloons R Us shop in King Street, Sandwich, told KentOnline she does not understand why Dover District Council (DDC) has made the changes.
“If people come from the surrounding villages, the buses are not coming anymore. They have to come in cars,” she said.
“If you have an appointment at the hairdressers, that could take an hour and a half quite easily. And then if you go for a bite to eat or lunch, that could run way over an hour and a half.
“So that’s three hours taken up. So people visiting the town or coming on business don’t have any more time to come and see me or visit other shops in the town.
“That is a real issue, I think, for people spending money in the town.”
Hilary Galbally, of Staple, said three hours does not give people enough time to visit local attractions, have a meal and walk around town.
“Even if you’re living here, it’s not enough time really to do a bit of shopping,” she added.
Peter Golding and his wife Frances, of Ash, had driven into the 175-space Guildhall car park – the largest in town and now restricted from a maximum 10-hour stay to three hours.
The couple visit the town two or three times a week.
Mr Golding told KentOnline: “I think three hours is too little. If they wanted to put a time limit on it, they probably would be better with maybe five hours.
“It’s a tourist town and part of the economy depends on it. Three hours is not really long enough to spend in it.”
Mrs Golding said: “I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea unless it’s restricted perhaps to the high summer months when you’ve got a very large tourist population coming to and fro.
“Three hours is enough if you’re visiting from some far-off place and you want a nice meal.”
Andrew Croucher, of Locks of Sandwich Cycles in King Street, also lamented the “terrible” new time limit.
“We have to park all day with permits. There is nowhere else to park in this town,” he said.
“But even for visitors parking in the town, the limit of three hours is ridiculous.”
Sandwich district councillor Dan Friend has railed against the restriction, which came into force last month.
The Conservative said: “We’re supposed to believe this helps tourism and local businesses?
“At a time when Sandwich should be encouraging visitors to stay longer, shop local, eat local and enjoy the town, DDC has gone in the opposite direction.
“People don’t come to Sandwich to rush. They come to explore one of the country’s finest medieval towns, support independent businesses and spend time here.”
However, Cllr Susan Beer, who represents North Deal for Labour, told KentOnline that “churn” is important, explaining: “The more visitors, the greater the spend in the local economy.”
The car parks in Deal affected are Beach Street and Union Road (reduced from 24 hours), and South Street and Stanhope Road (reduced from four hours).
Sandwich’s 146-space Quay car park and the 101-space Gazen Salts car park remain with maximum stays of seven hours.
A DDC spokesperson said: “Proposals to change maximum stays were considered as part of a parking review last year to manage traffic flows and the number of spaces available in our car parks.”
The council’s cabinet decided on the restrictions in December.
The charge for parking in Dover town is usually £1.80 an hour, but to handle higher demand in Deal and Sandwich, the fees were increased to £2 from the second hour onwards.
An officers’ report explained that Dover town car parks were usually not full – but those in Deal had a much higher percentage occupancy, particularly at peak times and in Middle Street.
The same was true for Sandwich and was particularly noticeable at peak times, with a large spike in August.
The report said this highlighted a “potential need to reflect this level of demand and to manage access and encourage turnover through a revised ticket price structure”.
Residents have also voiced opposition to a DDC decision to end cash payments for parking, voted through by the cabinet on May 11.
