Proposals to reduce on-street parking in Maidstone town centre from two hours down to just one hour or even 30 minutes on some streets have been condemned by businessmen.

Ivan White, chairman of the Maidstone branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that the scheme being considered by Maidstone council would “send some businesses over the edge”.

He said: “Half an hour is simply not long enough. One of our members has a launderette business; the wash cycle takes longer than that.”

Mr White, who runs the Roland White photography shop in Pudding Lane, said: “There is no logic to these proposals. The argument that residential roads are being blocked by shoppers is simply not true. There is not a problem during the day in most of these streets, they only become full after hours when the residents come home.

“All this will achieve will be to discourage people from using the local shops.

“This smacks of being a good wheeze for the council. They are hoping it will generate income through the penalty tickets they issue.”

Mr White said residents would also suffer. He said: “What if you’re holding party, a wedding or funeral? Your guests are going to need to park for longer than 30 minutes.”

And Mr White warned that the policy could be self-defeating. He said: ”If a shop goes out of business as a result of a loss of trade through these parking restrictions, you can bet the building will end up being redeveloped for housing - adding still more cars to the streets.”

Mr White gave the example of the former Holly Bush Inn in Fisher Street. In February, Maidstone council granted permission for it to be converted to seven flats - with one parking place between them.