Visitors to a hospital could be charged for parking on streets nearby, with a consultation on the plans due to take place.

Residents' spaces are being taken by people coming to Buckland Hospital in Dover who use free bays in side roads instead of paying fees on the NHS land.

Dover's Joint Transportation Advisory Board last Thursday agreed to an officers' recommendation to impose fees for Coombe Valley Road, Lambton Road and MacDonald Road.

It is hoped this will stop patients parking in the roads, and free up on-street spaces.

The board can only give a view on a recommendation, rather than make an actual decision.

But this response now triggers a formal consultation across the district.

The start date for that is to be confirmed.

Ward councillor John Haste, who was at the meeting, supports the recommendation.

He said: “People have paid for a year of parking and they get back home and can’t park.

“It is because people visiting get an hour’s free parking.”

Council officers propose to bring in cashless charging RingGo machines for visitors while residents carry on using their parking permits as before.

Visitors’ cars would have a two-hour maximum stay between 9am and 6pm Mondays to Saturdays.

Residents have already been informally surveyed on the proposal and seven out of 12 respondents said they supported it.

Residents KentOnline spoke to agreed with the planned charges or at least understood why they were proposed.

Lauren Mount, of MacDonald Road, said: “I would agree with them.

“It would help people such as those with babies park closer to their homes.”

Bradley Short, from the same street, said “I see the reasoning behind why they want to do it.

“Sometimes when you come back from work you can’t get a space.

“Just as long they don’t then put up the permit charges.

“My wife and I have to pay £110 and £140 a year for our cars. The charge depends on CO2 emissions of a car.”

Gary Scott, of Coombe Valley Road, said: “I’m all for it. I have to pay £130 for a permit and there is no guarantee of a space.

“It would be nice if the hospital let us park on their spaces in the evenings. But I think there are simply not enough parking spaces in this area.”

The morning our reporter turned up in the area he found a couple of hospital visitors using the on-street spaces because the NHS land was full.

One woman commented: “There is nowhere else to park.”