Parking charges could be added to streets around a hospital in a bid to stop visitors ducking out of using its car park.

It comes as residents living near Buckland Hospital in Dover say bays in their roads are being filled by patients, who choose to leave their cars there in free spaces, rather than use NHS grounds.

Now, a consultation is being carried out to add pay-by-phone spaces to the streets surrounding the hospital.

The streets affected are Coombe Valley Road, Coombe Close, Lambton Road and MacDonald Road.

For years residents, who have to pay for permits, have complained that visitors to the hospital have been taking up spaces on their streets, which are free for the first two hours.

When our reporter visited the area in 2022, he found sections of on-street bays full.

Yet, so few were used in the hospital grounds, youngsters had space to play football there.

Under the proposed order there would no longer be two hours’ free parking on those streets.

Visitors would have to pay £2 for an hour and £4 for two hours.

This would be between 9am and 6pm Monday to Saturday and payments would also have to be done by mobile phone.

Conditions for residents in the area with parking permits would stay the same.

The order is by Kent County Council with Dover District Council publicising notices and receiving the consultation feedback.

The joint transportation board for both authorities had recommended pursuing this scheme last year.

Residents near the hospital had been surveyed on the plan and seven out of 12 respondents supported it.

One commented that permits cost more than £120 a year yet there were no guaranteed car spaces for that.

A report on the issue last year said: "Historically the residents have stated that the current permit scheme wasn’t working due to the amount of visitors to the hospital taking the spaces away from permit holders.

"The hospital car park is currently pay and display and visitors choose to park in the on-street residents scheme area, rather than pay for parking in the car park.

"This has created significant issues between residents and visitors."

The formal consultation will run until noon on Monday, August 7.

Those who wish to object to the proposed order should write to the parking operations manager at Dover District Council offices, Honeywood Close, White Cliffs Business Park, Dover, Kent, CT16 3PJ. Alternatively they can email on parking.operations@dover.gov.uk