The boss of a struggling cinema says a decision to scrap free evening parking nearby will drive more filmgoers towards Netflix and Deliveroo.

Robert Johnson, who runs the Kavanagh in Herne Bay, has already been forced to cut staff numbers in half amid a 60% fall in admissions since the Covid pandemic.

And now he fears the move to axe complimentary stays in a neighbouring car park will make a “dire” situation worse.

The plan, which will end free parking in William Street between 6pm and 9pm, was rubberstamped by Canterbury City Council at a meeting on Thursday night.

Mr Johnson had presented a petition signed by 1,200 people in the hope of forcing a u-turn, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

“The council are just knocking another nail in the coffin,” he told KentOnline.

“The evening economy is struggling. People like to watch a film after a day in town or after a nice meal in a restaurant.

“Now they’ll just stay at home, get a Deliveroo and stream something.”

Mr Johnson, who took over the Kavanagh 15 years ago, says things were looking “rosy” for the independent cinema in 2019.

But he says it has since been “doom and gloom”, as the picturehouse was forced to close during the Covid lockdown and was then mothballed for two years as social distancing restrictions made reopening unviable.

When it did finally welcome customers back, staff numbers had been cut from 13 to six, with its electricity bill since rising from £700 to £2,000 a month.

Mr Johnson says the loss of free evening parking from April 1 will make it harder to fill seats at the cinema, which has a capacity of 210 across two screens.

The unpopular move - which will only save £5,000 a year - is part of a wider set of proposals that will also see charges hiked in most car parks across the district.

In William Street fees are being increased from £1.50 an hour to £1.90, with a 10% discount for residents.

It means out-of-towners watching a film at the Kavanagh will have to fork out £5.70 for a three-hour stay - almost the price of a standard £6 movie ticket.

Mr Johnson fears it will put film lovers off leaving their homes, or drive them to other cinemas offering free parking.

“A lot of people just haven’t come back to the cinema since the pandemic,” he said.

“While we were shut this horrible streaming started getting bigger, and it doesn’t take long to change people’s habits.

“When you’re fighting to get them back seeing films how they’re supposed to be seen, on the big screen, you’ve got the council telling them ‘we’re not going to let you park for nothing at night, you’ve got to pay’.”

“The 6pm to 9pm is prime time for us; it allows people to affordably come to the movies after a hard day at work,” he added, addressing councillors at Thursday’s full council meeting.

“To put it bluntly, if our neighbouring car park is no longer free after 6pm people will be forced to go to the cinema in places like Westgate, where the Carlton has free and abundant on-street parking, and the Vue cinema at Westwood Cross has a dedicated free 24/7 car park.

“For the good of the town we ask you to reconsider this matter.”

Mr Johnson’s petition was backed by the opposition Conservative group, which also voiced fears about the impact on the hospitality industry and the neighbouring Active Life gym, which is owned by the city council.

Herne Bay councillor Liz Harvey (Con) told KentOnline: “There are plenty of great restaurants in Herne Bay, but people will just go to Westwood Cross, where you can have something to eat and watch a film without having to pay for parking.

“The economic impact on Herne Bay could be massive. It’s just common sense.”

Concerns were also raised about motorists avoiding the new William Street fees by parking in already congested streets nearby.

But a proposed amendment to retain the free parking by removing £5,000 from a separate pot earmarked for parking incentives for events was voted down by the Labour-Lib Dem administration.

Following a lively debate, councillors pushed through the wider proposals as part of the new council’s first budget.

Under the plans, car parks will be broken down into three bands, with the highest charges imposed at the most popular sites.

The number of car parks in Band One - the priciest - will increase from two to seven, with an hourly rate of £3.70 for them all.

While this represents just a 20p hike at the existing premium sites in Canterbury, motorists in Whitstable will fork out as much as £2.10 more an hour.

There will be a 10% discount on parking fees for district residents, but not in the priciest car parks in Band One.

The offer will also only apply to the remaining sites with ANPR technology - to allow for online administration - leaving just 10 of the district’s 42 car parks eligible.

Some £232,500 of the extra cash generated by the changes will be used to reopen the mothballed Sturry Road Park and Ride in April.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the council’s cabinet member for transport, Cllr Alex Ricketts (Lib Dem), said the authority had no choice but to increase charges.

“Under no circumstances did I want to put prices up in any way shape or form,” he said.

“That’s always going to be the first point – how can we limit what the impact will be? But we do find ourselves in a financial situation that we have to do this, and we do have to raise revenue.

“I think what we’ve tried to do and what the team have done brilliantly is try to introduce some changes where we mitigate those rises as much as possible across the district.”