A HUGE hike in charges at Chatham’s short-term car parks has raised fears that shoppers could desert the town centre.

The price of parking for more than four hours has increased to £5. The top charge used to be £2.50 for more than eight hours.

Some traders are now worried that shoppers will bypass Chatham altogether and head for Bluewater or Lakeside, where parking is free.

Medway Council defended the charges, saying they had followed a detailed review and were intended to make sure drivers could find a space on short visits. Charges are now 90p for up to four hours, but £5 if you want to stay longer.

The increases affect all council car parks. Most are pay and display but some drivers using The Brook car park - where you pay on exit - were shocked when they put their ticket in the machine. Terry Hunt, from Hoo, was furious that he had to pay £5 for staying at The Brook car park for more than four hours.

He said: “Is this really the best way to attract shoppers to spend their money in Medway, or are Medway Council hellbent on driving everyone to Bluewater or Lakeside, where you are encouraged to stay as long as you wish and not pay anything for the privilege?”

Mother-of-two Charlene Fitzgerald, 21, of Gillingham Green, Gillingham, also had to pay £5 after staying four hours and 15 minutes. She said: “People like me on income support cannot afford that. I can understand that they want to stop people parking all day, but it seems too much.”

Charges at the short-stay car parks from Monday to Saturday are 40p for up to an hour, 60p for up to two hours, 90p for up to four hours and then £5. On Sunday, it costs 50p for each visit.

The increases were introduced at the end of last week. Mark Rothery, public relations officer for the Pentagon Shopping Centre, said the centre’s own car park was not increasing its charges of £3 for stays of four to five hours, but many people who used the centre would use the council’s Brook car park and others nearby.

He said: “We hope the increase in Medway Council’s charges for short-stay car parks does not have any effect on our trade, but we are not yet at a massively busy part of the year.

“If someone is planning to spend a whole day shopping, this could well put them off.”

A Medway Council spokesman said: “In the central car parks in Chatham, the aim is to support and encourage business by providing short-stay parking.

“We want to give shoppers the confidence that there will be a space for them to park if they visit Chatham.

“If customers believe they will have trouble parking, they are more likely to go somewhere they know they can park easily.

“There are still long-stay car parks, which are suitable for people who work in Chatham.’’