NEW charges at a town centre car park will "kill" Swanley as a destination for shoppers, according to one councillor.

The car park in Nightingale Way was free until signs and parking meters suddenly appeared on November 5 with drivers having to pay the new charges from the day after.

It now costs 50p for an hour, £2 for three hours and £3 to park all day at the site which serves a raft of nearby shops in the Swanley Shopping Centre as well as the Cedars and Oaks doctors’ surgeries.

Patients will have to shell out while waiting to be seen and the charges have caught residents, councillors and shop workers by surprise.

Swanley Town Councillor for White Oak ward Janet Sargeant told News Shopper: "This will kill Swanley as a place to shop which has always prided itself on its free parking.

"They have also not respected disabled Blue Badge Holders by allowing them three hours free parking.

"With the current climate of austerity which a lot of Swanley residents are noticing, they will not be able to afford these parking charges."

News Shopper:

Shoppers in Swanley could be put off by the new charges, it is claimed. 

Shelley Smith drives in from Crockenhill six days a week to work 39 hours as a dispensing assistant at the Co-operative pharmacy so parking will add around £80 to her monthly outgoings.

She said: "No one at this time of year has got that sort of money to go swanning off on parking charges.

"All the members of staff are pretty annoyed. We have been given one permit and that will obviously go to our manager."

Councillor Mark Fittock added: "It’s going to hit everything. It is very frustrating and I am very angry because of the lack of consultation."

A spokeswoman for the car park and shopping centre managers Cushman and Wakefield said: "As part of the ongoing management of Swanley which aims to improve the centre for its tenants and its customers, the landlord has introduced car parking charges.

"All of the tenants were notified of these changes in advance. The car parking operator County Car Parks are managing the car park and have put in place a competitive charging regime.

"All parties are confident that this will lead to more appropriate use of the car park which encourages focused shopping in the centre and a free flow of customers and traffic through the car park."