One Kent district raked in £45 million in parking fees in five years - more than double the total of its nearest competitor.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests reveal the sum collected by Canterbury City Council dwarfs that of the next-biggest earners, Thanet and Maidstone, which generated under £17 million each.

Meanwhile, Swale Borough Council was the only authority in the county to have made a loss on parking over the same period, having racked up a shortfall of more than £220,000.

Officials insist it remains an "important source of revenue" for the borough - but critics say it should "at least" be breaking even.

It was also discovered that Royal Victoria Place in Tunbridge Wells, Watling Street in Canterbury and Bligh's Meadow in Sevenoaks had generated more than £1 million in the first nine months of this year.

Analysis shows Crescent Road in Tunbridge Wells will also cross the seven-figure mark by the end of December.

However, shopkeepers in the centre of Canterbury claim the area's high charges are driving customers away.

The Brogue Trader head of business Mark Pegg said: "If people are coming here then that’s obviously a deterrent.

"If you’ve got a choice to come to Canterbury and get charged however much for parking, or go to Bluewater or Westwood Cross where you’re not going to get charged, which one are you more likely to go to?

“As a business and as a retailer we’re reliant on people coming into the city, and if there are barriers put up to people coming here then obviously that affects business.

“The biggest complaint we get from customers is the price of the parking."

Watling Street car park - the district's biggest money-spinner - has earned the authority almost £1.2 million this year alone.

Prices for a space at the city centre site and nearby Queningate were hiked by 40p to £3.20 an hour in April.

Fees are set to jump a further 30p at the car parks at the beginning of the next financial year.

When the price rises were first announced last November, then city council chief executive Colin Carmichael claimed "we could probably double the hourly rate and people would still come here".

Local authority spokesman Rob Davies says bosses balanced "a range of different factors to ensure the enduring popularity of the city as a place to visit and spend time" when setting the charges.

"We are honest about the fact that it can be challenging to balance all of these issues," he explained.

"Watling Street is our premium car park in the city centre and is priced as such.

“If you want to park there, that's fine, but be prepared to pay the higher rate. And people are prepared to do just that.

“Watling Street is invariably full at peak times because they are willing to pay for the convenience of the location.

"We make no apology for the fact that if you want to drive right into the heart of the city, you should expect to pay considerably more for that convenience."

The city council's profits from on- and off-street parking charges for the last five years stand at almost £18 million - more than double anywhere else in the county.

Mr Davies stresses the fees help the authority to "fund vital services such as rough-sleeper support and homelessness".

The biggest money-making car park in Kent this year has been Royal Victoria Place in Tunbridge Wells, which pulled in £1.2 million up to September.

While some councils are raking in huge sums, Dartford has generated profits of just £26,000 over the past five years.

Defending the figures, authority leader Jeremy Kite MBE says "unlike others, we don’t see car parks as a way to generate cash from visitors".

The Conservative states the sites are run "to provide a service that is convenient for local people and helpful to businesses and traders".

“During the pandemic we offered free parking to encourage people to return to the town centre and we continue to keep tariffs low to help the local economy rebuild," Cllr Kite added.

“Our low tariffs support the market day entertainment we’ve provided with partners over the past 12 months to encourage shoppers to return to our town centre.

“Offering convenient, affordable parking helps not just our traders but also our shoppers, residents and visitors.

“We also support a good network of public transport, including Fastrack, to give residents a viable alternative to driving.

“It is for each council to develop their own car parking strategy, but ours is not built on income generation.

“We are more interested in the service they provide."

Folkestone and Hythe also failed to make more than £500,000 from parking.

Meanwhile, Swale was the only council to make an overall loss from it over the last five years.

Faversham councillor Anthony Hook was taken aback by the findings.

"I think the general public would be quite surprised - people might expect they make a big profit on it," the Lib Dem stated.

"They should at least aim to break even.

"It might be that the way to close the deficit is not to whack up prices in car parks, but actually to ask locals if they’d like residents’ parking on their streets."

But Swale officials argue the hole is partly due to the pandemic.

They also reason that parking charges across Faversham, Sittingbourne, Sheerness and Sheppey are "among the lowest in Kent".

“Councils can levy fees to help fund council services, and parking is an important source of revenue for us," an authority spokesman said.

“Like most councils, we were hit by the decrease in revenue during the pandemic as people were told to stay at home and new patterns of work developed, but we are starting to see this recover.

“Our parking charges remain among the lowest in Kent and are essential to helping us tackle the significant budget gap we are facing over the next few years.”