Fuming motorcyclists have vowed to protest against a proposed pavement parking ban if it stops them leaving their bikes on the seafront.

The changes are largely meant to crack down on the number of delivery vehicles stopping outside cafes and restaurants in Central Parade, Herne Bay.

However, it is feared it could stop motorcyclists from congregating next to Neptune’s car park.

Keith Olive, from Broomfield, believes it could drive them away from the seafront.

“I’m a motorcyclist and I can’t think of a bay I can use down that way,” the 29-year-old said.

“On a really nice summer’s day, you can easily get 100 bikes down there.

“It’s not just local riders who come – you get people coming all the way from Essex and Hastings. A lot of people have said they’ll stop coming here because there’s nowhere else for them to park.”

Mr Olive says an exodus of motorcyclists will have a detrimental effect on seafront trade.

Nejmi Hassan, who runs Makcari’s with his brother Hassan, estimates his cafes make “hundreds of pounds” from serving “200 or 300 of them every weekend”.

“They’ve been parking on the same spot for years,” he added. “They draw such huge crowds that, from a business perspective, it’d be a huge, huge loss to the seafront.”

Mr Olive says a demonstration, which would see motorcyclists leaving their bikes in every space in Neptune’s car park, could be organised if the ban does prevent them from meeting in their usual spot.

“If it does go down this route then something needs to be done to show how it’s going to affect other people,” he said.

“If we put a bike in each space in Neptune’s car park, it’s going to affect a lot of people.”

However, Cllr Ian Stockley, who has proposed the ban, says he does not want it to impact motorcyclists.

“The area that they use was never meant to be included in it,” he said. “I asked for the ban because, particularly by the pier and bandstand, various people were parking on the pavement. It’s a pedestrian area - the pavements aren’t designed to have cars on them.”

A public consultation on the ban ends today. Visit www.canterbury.gov.uk/yellowlines to have your say.