Residents already fed up with the unbearable parking situation on an estate in Snodland say they will consider moving if strict new rules are introduced.

Southern Housing Group (SHG) has written to residents in Holborough Lakes saying from October 4, they will only be able to have one car per household and in order to get a permit, they must prove ownership with the correct vehicle logbook.

It means families with multiple cars and those with motability vehicles will not be able to park in their allocated spaces and will receive fines if they do.

Visitor permits are available but they are only valid for a day, with no return within 24-hours causing problems for those with carers. Other cars must be parked off the estate, up to half a mile away.

SHG owns at least 70 out of 1,200 properties in Holborough Lakes but residents fear the already exacerbated situation will have a knock on effect on privately owned homes and neighbouring roads as parking on the estate is already severely limited.

One of the residents feeling the impact of the decision is Franchesca Miller, a student nurse, who lives with her partner and their five children.

Her family relies on two cars to function and she has found the parking situation increasingly stressful, often returning from a 12 hour shift and unable to find a space, she has sometimes had to park off the estate.

The 35-year-old said the situation has become so bad, it is one of the reasons why she is moving her family out of Snodland entirely next month.

She said: "The situation is awful anyway and then the letter basically says we can't have people over because visitors are only allowed to stay for 24-hours.

"This is going to make the parking so much worse.

"I have been ticketed multiple times already. The first time was when I was helping my mum who is blind.

"I parked up outside my house temporarily and the ticket person was actually in the car next to me and I thought they’d be able to see that I was helping my mum but he ticketed me when I was settling her in.

"There is space for other parking areas but it's not being used because we’re not allowed to park there. I want them to retract that letter."

The letter dated August 27 from Angela Ogbe, home services manager at SHG says: "Over recent months we have had an increasing problem with unauthorised and illegal parking on the site.

"Despite letters to residents parked in the wrong spaces or with additional cars; notices on cars demised in parking spaces and those without tax and /MOT, matters haven’t improved.

"A decision has therefore been taken that we will be using a parking enforcement company in the SHG owned car parks.

"Your allocated parking space will remain unchanged, but new parking permits will need to be displayed at all times."

"A decision has therefore been taken that we will be using a parking enforcement company in the SHG owned car parks..."

These visitor permits are not to be used for second cars and enforcement officers will patrol the area daily.

The terms of the new rules have left Frederika Seal from Linnett Road unsure of how she is going to cope after October 4.

She and her husband – a special needs teaching assistant – have three children with disabilities.

They have two cars, one of which is a motability vehicle. Under the new rules she will not be able to park the motability car in her allocated space because she does not own it and cannot produce the logbook (V5 document) being requested.

The 32-year-old said: "My second daughter is high level autistic so we have the car for her, and my son sometimes uses a wheelchair.

"We have been told if we can’t prove we own that vehicle we can't park it in our space because we will get ticketed daily. We also can't use a visitors space or a visitors permit.

"There is a disability bay about 400 yards away but that is always being used because there is someone else who needs it.

"If I could, right now I would move because I’m done.

"We have been here for four years and we have a fantastic relationship with the neighbours but now we are all stressed over parking.

"You shouldn't have to worry about getting a ticket at your own home."

MP for Chatham and Aylesford Tracey Crouch, who has received several complaints from residents about the issue, has called the plans 'outrageous' and has written to Southern Housing Group detailing her concerns.

Ms Crouch added: "I think it’s the wrong decision. I’m also just checking the legality of it because something just doesn't sit quite right and I'm concerned about the impact it's going to have on other parts of the lake and Snodland.

"People have big families and lots of people don't have one car per house so it feels very ill-thought through.

"The other thing I don't like about it is that it's something that's being brought in as opposed to something that has been there from the start.

"If you're a tenant and it's something you know is part of your tenancy, you can potentially accept or decline based on those reasons.

"People have big families and lots of people don't have one car per house so it feels very ill thought through..."

"What I don't like is that it has been brought in retrospectively when people are already settled in their houses."

The lack of parking on the estate has been a problem since it was built more than 10 years ago.

Residents would often park on double yellows in search of a space but in August last year, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council stopped this by upping patrols and issuing fines.

Cllr David Lettington from Snodland West and Holborough Lakes ward has described the latest update to the rules an 'an absolute disgrace' and will be contacting SHG on behalf of residents.

He added: "Many of the roads on the estate are adopted highways, they’re public land so they can’t stop people parking there.

"Sure where the roads are not adopted and they fall within the ownership of Berkeley Homes or are managed by RMG, they can be subject to private enforcement.

"But these homes are lived in by families who need their vehicles. Even if they could enforce it, where are people going to park?

"For me this is typical heavy handed behaviour which has been going on in Holborough Lakes since day one.

"This is totally unreasonable behaviour that I think is seeking to do things they don’t have the power to do."

Sasha Harrison, director of housing services at Southern Housing Group said: "Southern Housing Group is a responsible social landlord, and we invest significantly in the communities in which we operate.

"It is true that there is considerable pressure on car parking spaces locally. As our residents at Holborough Lake have pointed out, this situation is exacerbated by people abusing the system, for example with abandoned and untaxed vehicles.

"These spaces are intended for our residents and their visitors including essential services and health visitors. We have changed the car park operator and we hope this more proactive approach will quickly restore the parking situation so that it benefits our residents in the way it was intended.

"We understand that that some of our residents at Holborough Lakes are concerned about how changes to parking arrangements will affect them, and we are listening to their concerns to help find a solution that we hope will work for everyone."

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