Frustrated protesters have urged Kingston Council to scrap "drastic" hikes in parking charges, which have left residents and businesses struggling.

People gathered before Kingston Council's meeting at the Guildhall on Tuesday (8 July) to voice their opposition to the increases in parking charges, which have more than tripled in some areas of the borough.

The council considered a petition from Gia Borg-Darcy at the meeting, a local mum and tutor, which urged the authority to reconsider the "crippling" fees. The petition was signed by 1,198 residents.

Ms Borg-Darcy told the council the hikes were a "significant burden" on small businesses, self-employed people and those who relied on their car for daily activities, like herself as the mum of three neurodivergent children. She warned the extra fees threatened the future of the borough's high streets and town centres by making them less attractive to visit.

Ms Borg-Darcy said: "Businesses are already struggling with online competition, low footfall and rising costs.

"These punitive parking charges will only worsen the decline of our local business. The council's actions have betrayed the trust of our community, particularly in areas outside of Kingston Town."

She added: "The petition before you today is not just about parking charges, it's about the future of our community. It's about ensuring that our high streets and town centres remain vibrant and thriving. It's about supporting local businesses and residents, carers, and friends and family of the elderly, who are already struggling to make ends meet."

Ms Borg-Darcy called on the council to sit down with residents and businesses to decide on a "more reasonable" increase in parking charges, and to consider introducing one-hour free parking as a "lifeline" for local businesses.

Gia Borg-Darcy. Credit: (Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS)

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.

Independent councillor James Giles, Leader of the Opposition, said the authority had slipped through the hikes refusing to provide details of the new prices at the budget meeting.

"When it came to parking charges, residents weren't seen as people but as revenue," he said.

Councillor Giles added: "The administration knew the rises would hit residents hard and did everything they could to avoid scrutiny."

Responding to the petition, the council pledged to carry out a retail parade parking study to assess how the hikes were affecting certain areas of the borough and what help it could give to businesses.

Lib Dem councillor Richard Thorpe, Portfolio Holder for Finance, said the council had hiked parking charges to help pay for the rising cost of highways maintenance.

He said: "We have significant budget pressures, they are not going to reduce. A big chunk of what we spend money on is the roads, that are met in part by parking charges but not all, and that is not going to change in the near future."

Lib Dem councillor Alison Holt, Deputy Leader, said she had asked officers to look at the condition of local high streets and parades as she knew "times are challenging".

Councillor Holt said: "The initial findings are that our high streets are weathering the storm, but we'll continue to listen to businesses and if the parking charges are impacting them, we will look to see how we can help with this."