Kent County Council is planning to use ANPR cameras to get tough on motorists who use bus lanes when they shouldn’t.

Private vehicles entering “bus-gate” lane in King Street, Maidstone, heading onto the high street, will be the first to get a fine.

In July last year, the Government gave local authorities new powers to enforce “moving traffic contraventions” – which previously had only been down to the police.

Moving traffic contraventions include things like driving through a No Entry sign, turning left or right when instructed not to do so, entering yellow box junctions when the exit is not clear and driving a private vehicle on a route for buses only.

There has been a delay since the legislation passed due to the need for the county council to purchase new equipment and set up the systems to monitor the system, but it now says this should be up and running by November.

The pedestrian-only zone – now being referred to as a “bus-gate” in King Street has been highlighted as a place where unauthorised vehicles frequently drive through the restricted area, causing delays to the bus network and affecting the punctuality of the buses.

The bus gate begins at the King Street and Wyke Manor Road junction in the east, and ends at the High Street and Mill Street junction in the west.

A third entrance to the bus gate is located on Pudding Lane.

A potential problem is the existence of four disabled parking bays outside the NatWest Bank in the High Street.

Disabled badge holders are legally allowed to enter the bus-gate to access these spaces, but camera enforcement would not be able to identify whether a vehicle travelling through the bus gate is carrying a disabled badge holder.

Taxis are also legally permitted to use the bus gate and many do to access the main taxi rank in King Street, just outside the bus zone.

However, this is more easily overcome, as the registration plates of taxis can be added to the system’s database and excluded from any penalties.

KCC said there would also be a human-eye check of every image prior to a penalty charge notice being issued and it would not be purely a machine-generated process.

Once the system is finalised, a six-week consultation period will take place before any ticket is issued.

The penalty charge for offenders will be £70.