Nature lovers in Kent are furious at a decision to introduce parking charges at a number of beauty spots across the county.

The cash-strapped Kent Wildlife Trust is set to charge drivers to park at its "flagship reserves" after suffering a huge financial hit during the pandemic.

Bosses have decided to introduce paid parking by mobile phone and will operate automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology.

The trust's main reserves and those with established car parks will be the first to introduce the new fees.

These are Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, Marden Meadows, East Blean Woods, West Blean (Thornden) Woods, Oare Marshes, Queendown Warren, and Cromers Wood.

Income will support the conservation activities of the trust and the management of each individual site.

But the decision has been met with opposition from regular users of the scenic spots.

One of them, Herne Bay resident and regular Thornden Woods user Amy Williams, 39, is disappointed the new fees are being introduced during a national lockdown.

"It's poor timing, particularly for [these charges] to be accepted by the community," she said.

"People are struggling, and these woods are giving a bit of sanity to people going out for a walk.

"All I’ve seen up there are people who are looking for a bit of a break with nature and just to have that chance to walk round and be away from everything for a few minutes.

"Particularly for children, it gives them a chance to learn something because there are signs which provide information about different trees and things."

Ms Williams also opposes the flat fee that is going to be imposed and believes there should be an hourly rate or an annual membership.

"If you’re there for five or six hours, it wouldn’t be that bad," she added.

"But most people are there for 20 minutes to an hour - I don’t think people spend long in the woods.

"I think it’s a lot, £2 on weekdays and £2.50 on weekends. It doesn’t sound a lot but if you go there regularly, it soon adds up."

Cars parks will be updated with the paid parking infrastructure by February 22, but payment will not be enforced until March 1.

Bosses at the Kent Wildlife Trust have said they are working on the issue of poor phone signal at certain sites and hope to have this remedied soon.

Payment can be made either before, after or during the visit - but must be made before 11:59pm on the day of visiting the site. They are also looking at "alternative methods" of payment.

Greenhill councillor Dan Watkins (Con) is disappointed by the rise in anti-social behaviour at Thornden Woods, but believes ANPR will help give it more protection against thugs.

"What it will mean is that the facility will be protected and maintained at a higher standard, because you’re not going to get those people rocking up and vandalising it," he said.

"It also gives [the Kent Wildlife Trust] more money to spend on the wardens who keep it as the brilliant, natural resource it is and also improve it as well."

Although he understands the concerns people have about the parking charges, particularly those on low incomes, he believes the cash could help improve the Trust's work.

"Obviously, if you have a natural landscape that is open and people can visit it for free and then you put a charge on it, a few people will stop going," he added.

"That is a shame because we want people to enjoy our local environment.

"But if you look at it commercially, there are some challenges for Kent Wildlife Trust and I sympathise with the reasons they are doing this, even though it is a shame they need to do it."

It was reported last November a lockdown spike in trips to the woodland for walks had seen scores of motorists leave their cars along a road dubbed “accident alley” - raising fears of a fatal crash.

Nature lovers unable to find a space in the overflowing car park at Thornden Wood had instead been leaving their vehicles at its entrance.

Cllr Watkins had criticised the drivers at the time, but is not sure how these charges will impact parking along Thornden Wood Road.

Simon Bateman-Brown, head of land management at Kent Wildlife Trust, said: "Kent Wildlife Trust is introducing paid car parking to our flagship nature reserves to provide much-needed additional income to invest into the conservation of our nature reserves, ensuring that we are in line with our primary focus which is the protection and restoration of wildlife.

"The current pandemic has had a huge economic impact on us as a charity, with a high probability of a greater impact in 2021.

"What is more, our nature reserves have seen increased visitor numbers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Whilst we welcome the additional use of the sites, it has created additional pressure and in many cases damage, vandalism and anti-social issues which in turn has cost us money, time and resources to manage.

"As an organisation, we need to look at future-proofing our income streams to ensure that we can continue to manage our nature reserves for wildlife and still enable access for the public.

"The paid parking will enable us to better manage the car parks, access points and the sites themselves for wildlife."

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