Opposition to unpopular plans to start charging for on-street parking in a town where it’s currently free is growing, with one councillor claiming it could shut businesses.

Tonbridge and Malling council is considering introducing charges to West Malling in order to “bring it in line with the rest of the borough”.

But Cllr Trudy Dean, who represents East Malling, West Malling and Offham, said her postbag was filled with objections from those opposed to the proposal.

She said: “The local chamber of commerce is very concerned about the deleterious effect that charges would have on shops and trade.

“Many businesses have yet to recover to their pre-pandemic levels of business and fear that any further loss of trade could put them out of business completely.”

Russell Meader runs West Malling Flowers and the West Malling Cafe and is chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.

He said: “We are a market town and depend on passing trade. Once parking charges are imposed people will go elsewhere to Bluewater or Kings Hill, where parking is free.”

“I fear it will close businesses. Many of us are already subsidizing our businesses out of our own pockets.”

“There’s just been no proper consultation. We would like to meet the council and negotiate a reasonable settlement, but we feel that for TMBC it’s already a done deal.”

Mr Meader has run his florist shop for 14 years and the cafe for just over a year. In total, he employs 18 staff.

He said: “The council is being short-sighted. If businesses end up closing, they will miss out on receiving business rates.”

In addition, there is the question of school drop-offs.

West Malling Primary School currently operates a walking bus, collecting children from the Tesco car park off the High Street and walking them safely to school in Norman Road.

Many parents take advantage of the free parking in Swan Street and the High Street to drop off their kids for the walking bus.

It saves them from having to join the traffic in Norman Road which is already heavily congested at school run times.

Cllr Dean said: “It is extremely congested at the school and the free parking helps to alleviate this.

“If charges are introduced, there is a fear that parents will seek to avoid paying and end up adding to the congestion.”

What about our Farmers’ Market?

At present, parking in the 93 available street spaces is restricted to a one-hour stay, but the local authority is proposing a charge of 60p for a half-hour stop, rising to £3.80 for four hours.

The fee would apply between 8am and 8pm and include Sundays and bank holidays.

Cllr Dean added: “I know the Rev David Green is very concerned about what effect this might have on visitors to the church of St Mary, which of course is used not only for services, weddings and funerals but for many other community events.

”There is also concern over what the implications would be for the town’s popular Sunday Farmers Market – with 40 stalls, it is currently one of the largest markets in the area.”

Representatives from several West Malling organisations have met the leader of Tonbridge and Mallling Council, Cllr Matt Boughton, to discuss the issues.

Cllr Dean said: “One suggestion which has been put forward is that the parking remains free for the first two hours, that could solve many of the problems.”

Residents and businesses have until January 7 to give their views to the borough council, but again, Cllr Dean said people were unhappy that the consultation was running over the Christmas period when many people’s minds were on other things, and clubs and associations were not usually meeting.

She said: “It is also a consultation that has been carried out pretty much completely online and some people will be unaware of it.

“Furthermore, it is not over user-friendly – it’s 37 pages long!”

Within the consultation is a proposal to increase long-stay parking permits in the Ryarsh Lane car park, from £230 to £290 a year – an increase of 26%.

The long-stay permits are generally used by shop staff and again the proposal has not gone down well with the chamber of commerce.

West Malling Parish Council is also opposing the charges.

Cllr Dean said: “The borough council wants to put all its parking on the same footing, but they don’t understand that you can’t treat rural shopping centres like West Malling in the same way as urban areas like Tonbridge.

“There are other areas around West Malling that do have free parking, and if changes are imposed, then many shoppers will go elsewhere where the parking is free and the town will suffer.”

Charges for West Malling are part of a raft of changes that would also see the introduction of charges at the two Bailey Bridge car parks in Aylesford and at Martin Square car park in Larkfield, all currently free.

There are two consultations running simultaneously – one for off-street parking, ie car parks, which can be accessed here, and one for on-street parking which can be accessed here.

Both run until Sunday, January 7.

Tonbridge and Malling council has already received more than 2,800 responses to the consultations.