The season of goodwill won’t extend to drivers this Christmas as Maidstone Borough Council has quashed the idea of free parking.

It was hoped parking fees could be waived after 3pm at Lockmeadow car park in the run-up to Christmas.

The ‘free after 3’ proposal, suggested by Maidstone Town Centre Management, was deemed to be too costly with an estimated £5,000 in lost revenue for the borough council.

John Foster, the council's development manager, told a business forum the council was not convinced the scheme would work and it had not been budgeted for.