A Kingston tutor and mum-of-three has slammed "drastic" rises in parking charges in the borough, which have more than tripled in some areas.

Gia Borg-Darcy sent a petition to Kingston Council urging the authority to reconsider the "crippling" fees, which has been signed by 1,198 residents.

Ms Borg-Darcy told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) small businesses, self-employed people and carers are being penalised by the hikes, along with residents and visitors who rely on their car.

She said the changes have affected her as a tutor as her clients must pay higher prices, and as a parent of three neurodivergent children who relies on her car to get around.

"It's not fair," she said. "We should not accept this. It's something that needs to be rectified."

Frustration among residents has been growing after the council agreed to hike hourly parking charges in Kingston at its budget meeting for 2025/26 on 27 February. The changes came into effect on 11 April.

A two-hour stay in controlled parking zone S has gone from 90p to £3 and roads such as Bellevue Road, Dawson Road, Denmark Road and Grove Crescent have tripled from £1.10 to £3.30.

The council told the LDRS it routinely reviews parking charges to make sure they are appropriate, with hourly rates benchmarked against similar locations in neighbouring boroughs. It said the increased charges will help pay for the rising cost of highways maintenance and administration.

Ms Borg-Darcy said the council should have consulted with local business owners and self-employed people to reach a more acceptable solution.

She said she feels "completely ignored" as she raised her concerns at the authority's 'south of the borough' committee meeting on 25 March and was promised a written response by councillors, which she never received.

This pushed her to set up the petition, which outlines how many residents, businesses and visitors can't afford the higher parking charges on top of other cost-of-living challenges.

The petition will be considered by the council at a meeting on 8 July, as it gained more than 1,000 signatures.

Charlotte Salaman, who runs The Wych Elm in Kingston, urged the council to reconsider its decision at a meeting of the Place Committee on 24 June.

She said: "After 11 years of trading, we are a destination venue. We've witnessed countless economic troubles, but these punitive parking costs resulting in fewer customers may be the last straw for us."

Ms Borg-Darcy said the increased charges are "crippling" for many small businesses already struggling with online competition, low footfall and rising costs, and will only contribute to the decline of the borough's high streets and town centres by making them less attractive to visitors.

She said the charges are unfair as they have risen by different amounts across the borough – more than tripling in some places.

Ms Borg-Darcy told the LDRS: "What's scaring me is that people decide to go elsewhere instead, travel a bit further up. They won't mind travelling half-an-hour or more with their car and then take their business elsewhere instead of coming to Kingston."

She added: "I really, really would like to get this changed so we see the streets full [of] people happy."

Ms Borg-Darcy said she would like to see the council agree to a lower increase of 50 per cent in parking charges across the borough, or to introduce one-hour free parking everywhere.

"We're here to negotiate," she said. "We need to come up with a solution that's going to be good for everyone – for families, for businesses, for sole traders, for everyone."

A Kingston Council spokesperson told the LDRS it published statutory notices before introducing the new charges, after approving them at its budget meeting, and did not receive any responses.

The spokesperson said: "Whilst hourly rates have risen across the borough, we have benchmarked them against similar locations in neighbouring boroughs, and we are content that they are in line with rates being charged elsewhere.

"It is common practice to have differing charges across roads and streets in the borough, this is due to the contrasting levels of demand and availability of alternative transport in each location.

"The use of funds generated through on-street car parking charges are tightly controlled.

"The council can only put them towards the costs of operating the parking service and a limited number of other areas such as highways maintenance, environmental projects and concessionary fares like the Freedom Pass.

"Off-street charges and permit prices (including for residents and their visitors) have only been increased by inflation.

"The increases in charges will contribute to the rising costs of maintenance and administration but, even with the increases that we have implemented, we predict that the council will still have to contribute nearly £8m to these costs in 2025/26.

"The cost of concessionary fares like the Freedom Pass, which is paid directly to TfL, is costing the council nearly £5m alone this year and will be closer to £6m in 2025/26.

"Availability of car parking supports access to local leisure, retail and public services in the borough's neighbourhoods. Shorter stay parking is encouraged in shopping areas so that businesses in the borough benefit from a turnover of customers during the day, including the retention of the 30 minutes free parking option in many areas to support convenience businesses on which our residents rely.

"The ability to pay per 30-minute stay, rather than by hour, has also been reinstated with this in mind."