A raft of fee increases for council services have been agreed en masse by cabinet members including the garden waste collection used by half of the borough's residents.

Matt Boughton, leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, asked his colleagues to consider the proposed charges set out by his officers in four batches: each was agreed unanimously without any debate in seven minutes.

As well as setting new charges for many services for the next financial year starting in April, there were a number of "in-year" charge increases as the council responded to the rising levels of inflation.

As a result, almost all the services where the council can make a discretionary charge will increase by at least 10% next April.

But in addition, garden waste collection, which is used by almost 50% of the borough's residents, will rise immediately by £2 from £42 to £44, and then rise again to £49.50 in April.

Some 28,270 households currently use the service – the highest take-up of any authority in Kent.

Various planning application charges will also rise mid-year, with the cost of pre-application advice increasing by 20% immediately for small applications, and by 30% for larger schemes. Both will rise again by another 10% in April.

But the small number of households who take advantage of the council's high hedge service to have their neighbours forced to cut back intrusive hedges will see the biggest rise of all – an immediate 52% rise in charges plus a further 10% in April, taking it to £484.

Often when short of money, councils turn to parking charges, which for most authorities is their biggest source of service income.

The council is not able to increase those charges immediately because by law a consultation process has to be undertaken. Cllr Boughton said they would set those aside for another day.

The exception was the annual season ticket for parking at Haysden Country Park will rise by £5 to £65, and it will no longer be valid in Leybourne Lakes Country Park, which is now in separate ownership.

Most other charges such as the cost of hiring the council's open spaces for events, of booking rooms at Tonbridge Castle, and the cost of burials in Tonbridge Cemetery will go up by 10% in April.

An exception will be pest control. The council – acknowledging that the control of rats, mice and bedbugs is a public health issue – is making no changes to fees there.

Officers said the financial position of the council was "very concerning".

But they said that the changes would generate an extra £50,000 of revenue in the remainder of the current financial year and an additional £266,000 of income in the next full year.

In this year's budget, set last April, the council had allowed for inflation at 2.2%. The latest official figure is 11.1%.