An angry shopper who was charged £2.40 for an eight-minute stay in a town centre car park says he plans to appeal the fee.

Ian Rampton was popping into the Macknade farm shop at Elwick Place, Ashford, and left his car in the adjoining council-owned car park.

The former landlord at The Albion pub said: "I went to Macknade because I fancied some Biddenden wine, which I knew they sold there.

"I parked up and got it, then when I came back and went to the machine it told me the charge came to £2.40.

"The sign on it said it's £1.20 per hour, so I kept checking the receipt but it seriously said £2.40 for eight minutes.

"No wonder everyone talks about the town centre dying."

Mr Rampton, who left The Albion in South Willesborough in February, says he is going to appeal the fee, but he isn't too hopeful about getting a result.

The 282-space Elwick Place car park is the first council-run facility to have an automatic number plate recognition [ANPR] system installed, featuring barriers and number plate-reading cameras.

Cameras register the details of vehicles as they enter the car park, with drivers paying at a machine or via the RingGo parking app for the time used before leaving.

The technology was first linked to Ashford in 2017 following a six-month trial in Canterbury.

Commenting on Mr Rampton's fee, a council spokeswoman confirmed the minimum charge in the car park is £2.40.

"All car parks run by Ashford Borough Council have a minimum parking charge, the details of which can be found on our website and on the tariff boards at the car parks themselves," she said.

"Automatic number plate recognition has been introduced recently at Elwick Place car park but this has not had an impact on the charges here - they are the same as they were before this technology was introduced.

"Our parking charges are reviewed every three years, are comparable with other local authorities across the county and competitive against privately run car parks in the area.

"All car parks require maintaining and income generated from parking fees covers this maintenance and running costs.

"We have been offering free parking for a number of years now. Some of our car parks offer free parking after 3pm and on Sundays.

"Along with this initiative visitors can enjoy additional free parking in the run up to Christmas."

Visit ashford.gov.uk/parking for more information.

Yesterday, a farm shop which is set to rival Macknade opened in Ashford high street, filling a long-empty unit opposite the town's former M&S.

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