More than 400 people have signed a petition calling for an increase to the free parking offered at a village car park.

The car park is on the site of Waitrose in Longfield, with the supermarket giant leasing it from the local authority.

Until recently, the car park’s 90-minute restriction was not being enforced but after parking meters were installed, anyone who stays longer than the allotted time faces a £70 fine.

Local shop owner Sam Jarvis set up a petition on August 31 in a bid to have free parking increased to four hours and this week the number of signatures reached 415.

The petition states: “This [90 minutes] is not enough time for most local people to run day to day errands such as doctors, dentists, opticians, hairdressing, beauty appointments and general shopping in the village.

“We feel four hours free parking would be a more sensible amount of time for most people but still stopping people parking there to commute into London on a daily basis.

"I’m afraid this will affect Longfield’s trade long term" Sam Jarvis

“I have a business in Longfield and have already lost clients who can’t park anywhere in the village. I’m afraid this will affect Longfield’s trade long term.”

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson waded into the issue on Tuesday, calling on the supermarket to listen to the concerns.

“Waitrose is an asset to Longfield and we need to enable it to flourish and trade, unhindered by commuters using the car park,” he said.

“At the same time I hope Waitrose listens to the concerns of local people and allows longer periods of time than 90 minutes.

“I appreciate the company wants to prevent commuters using the car park, but visitors to Longfield can often need more time than they currently have. I hope a swift compromise can be found that works for everyone.”

The supermarket was contacted by the Messenger shortly after the petition was set up and a spokesman said general feedback to the parking arrangements had been positive.

“We provide 90 minutes free parking, but we are very close to the station and more than a third of the car park has been subject to increasing abuse on a daily basis from people parking all day, throughout the week,” they said.

“This prevents those who genuinely wish to shop with us or visit other local businesses from being able to park and it was clear this needed to be addressed.

“We have not changed the time allowed previously and discretion was used while people got used to the new system. We want to provide a facility that enables more people to visit the town and the feedback from shoppers has been positive.”

The petition can be found at change.org by searching for ‘Stop Waitrose fining customers for parking in the village car park’.