Being allowed to park in a car park for 30 more minutes would greatly benefit residents of a town centre says one councillor who is fighting to make it a reality.

People living in Maidstone Town Centre can park in selected areas for free between between 5pm to 8am.

But Cllr Richard Conyard has been pushing for this time to be extended to help ease troubles for his constituents.

He said: “When I go round speaking to residents, parking is a key issue for my ward. There aren’t enough spaces in Maidstone.

“People come home after a hard day at work and sometimes take 20 minutes just to find a space. And then you have homes with multiple occupancies who need more than one car.”

As it stands, resident permit holders are allowed to park in bay parking areas across town overnight until 8am.

If people wish to stay longer, they have to pay the standard fair to use the space.

One such resident, retired school teacher Colin Philpott of Cromwell Road, explained the issues his street has with parking.

He said: “There aren’t many houses with a drive so people are fighting for spaces.

“So if the council could give that extra hour it would be very helpful.”

The nearest parking bay areas for Cromwell Road are on Union Street opposite, where N4 permit holders can park.

Cromwell Road is narrow with limited parking bays on one side and a single yellow line on the other, preventing parking between the hours 9am and 5pm.

Colin said “The car parks don’t get busy and certainly not before 9am so the idea of allowing N4 permit holders to park in public areas would be a huge benefit to us.

“The period between 8am and 9am is by far not peak time so to me it wouldn’t lose them any money.”

Richard believes that adding an extra 30 minutes to the allotted time it would better fit residents’ schedules without compromising too much space for early morning shoppers.

Currently nine car parks allow residents with permits to park.

Well Road – N2 permit holders

Lucerne Street – N3 permit holders

Sittingbourne Road – N3 and N4 permit holders

Union Street – N4 permit holders

Brooks Place – N3 and N4 permit holders

Brunswick Street – S2 permit holders

Brewer Street – N3 permit holders

Wheeler Street – N3 and N4 permit holders

Mote Road – S1 permit holders

Richard has been in contact with Maidstone council about the issue since June.

He issued a trial period for his petition in November which saw it gain around 150 signatures in seven days. You can view it here.

A spokesman at the council said: “MBC is regularly approached about extending our off street parking facilities to residents later in the day.

“However, although it is true that many car parks are not full by 8:30 we have continued to see increased demand for parking following the devastating impact of the pandemic.

“Off-street car parks are a vital source of council income which help pay towards front line services and so parking bays which are paid for need to be protected to make sure we can meet the increased demand moving forward and support those returning to work and for visitors to our town centre. Therefore we would not currently consider extending concessions.”

Richard hopes to present his petition with more than 1,000 signature in January.