A controversial red-route scheme will go ahead despite being rejected by the majority of respondents to a consultation.

Newly-published results for the Medway Council poll show for all five proposed routes, more than 60% of participants did not agree with the project.

And it’s also been revealed it will cost £805,000 to implement - including £475,000 for culprit-catching cameras and £100,000 for signage and changes to road markings.

The affected areas include sections of Corporation Street, Rochester; Star Hill, Rochester; Best Street, Chatham; The Brook, Chatham; and High Street, Rainham.

The scheme will change road rules meaning vehicles can’t stop in red-lined areas for any length of time during certain parts of the day.

Motorists who do this, can face hefty fines – in London drivers are hit with £160 charges, but Medway is yet to set a cost level.

On average across the five suggested areas, 63% of consultation respondents said they had not experienced dangerous or inconvenient parking in the proposed red-route zones.

The survey also showed the three main reservations residents had were that they did not believe the restrictions would ease congestion – blaming it instead on traffic levels and roadworks – and that they believed the scheme was purely a money-making venture.

They also expressed concerns the routes would negatively impact blue badge holders and other instances where people need to load or unload vehicles.

However, the proposed sites are already subject to double yellow line restrictions, so motorists are already subject to penalties for parking there, and there are exemptions for blue badge holders.

The policy will now go to Cabinet before being moved to statutory consultation with only slight alterations to the designs as described in the original plans.

The only change following the surveys was introducing loading bays on three of the routes that can be used during certain off-peak hours.

For all the suggested areas, the majority of respondents said they had experienced congestion on the five roads, but still did not want the scheme introduced.

The consultation received a total of 975 responses, of which 46%, on average, of people lived within a 1km radius of the proposed sites.

The red routes have been controversial, with many members of the public believing they are not necessary or will be ineffective, and many think they are only an opportunity for the council to earn revenue from fines.

Last week, Conservative group leader, Cllr Adrian Gulvin, supported this feeling – saying the scheme had been suggested during the previous administration purely for that reason.

However, the Labour group denied this, with cabinet member Cllr Tristan Osborne saying battling congestion and improving air quality were the policy’s main aims.

In a statement, it said: “Currently at all five sites, parking and waiting for any length of time for most people is strictly banned with double yellow lines, and anyone caught doing so is liable to receive a fixed-penalty notice.

“We have heard people's concerns about current road schemes, as well as any future ones and are introducing some waiting bays to allow for pick-ups and drop-offs without the risk of getting a ticket.

“Some 12% of the total cost of the scheme is going towards clear signage, something which people routinely asked for in the consultation. A further 11% is going towards monitoring the traffic and air quality through these traffic hotspots.

“If we can improve people's journey times and clean up air in the middle of our towns at the same time, then we think this is money well spent.

“We are getting on with the job of getting Medway moving. No one wants to spend longer in their car than needed, and no one wants to be breathing in dirty air.”

The online consultation was conducted between July 5 and July 30, with leaflets also distributed to businesses and residents around the five routes.