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A “bonkers” scheme allowing drivers to leave their vehicles in leisure centre car parks for just 33p an hour could be overhauled.
Canterbury City Council has revealed plans to increase the charges - which currently allow motorists to pay £1 to park for three hours - to £1.90 an hour at Kingsmead in Canterbury and £2 an hour in Whitstable.
The fee is currently refundable for leisure centre customers – but council bosses want to scrap the incentive.
They believe the car parks are being used by visitors to the district who do not want to fork out as much as £6 for a space elsewhere.
Speaking at this month’s Covid-19 emergency committee meeting, Cllr Ashley Clark said the system was “odd in the extreme”.
“What’s bizarre is that charges at other car parks – very often in close proximity to these leisure centres – are in the order of up to £2 an hour,” he explained.
“Yet here we have a situation where for £1, or 33p an hour, you can park.
“People who see these cheap charges can, when they come to Whitstable or Canterbury, park there and have three hours of fun for just £1.
“This strikes me as bonkers to say the least, particularly with the dire financial problems that the council faces.”
Parking chiefs are proposing to raise the hourly charge at Kingsmead to £1.90 – matching the fee at the nearest public car park, Northgate.
Meanwhile, at Whitstable leisure centre, they hope to lift it to £2, which would be in line with the charge at nearby Beach Walk. There would be no customer refunds.
The city council has put forward the changes after it was told by Active Life, which runs the gyms, that it is intending to go cashless and therefore will not be able to refund customers.
The authority hopes this will reduce the level of non-leisure centre parking at the sites – which it says is more prevalent in Whitstable.
"This strikes me as bonkers to say the least, particularly with the dire financial problems that the council faces..."
At the meeting, the council’s head of transportation, Richard Moore, said 91% of people leaving their vehicles in the bays at Kingsmead last year were visiting the leisure centre.
“There is a greater compliance issue at Whitstable, where 25% of users are not claiming the refunds,” he added.
“They could be forgetting to or not bothering – but what’s probably more likely is other people are taking advantage of that.”
The council also says the planned changes will bring the fees at both car parks in line with those in Herne Bay, where there is no reduced parking charge for Herons Leisure Centre customers.
The local authority is consulting residents on the proposed changes. Comments need to be submitted before the deadline on Friday, September 4.
Councillors will be presented with the results when they meet to take a decision on the changes in September.
To take part, email transportation@canterbury.gov.uk.
