Council bosses say residents will not be getting a reprieve from the priciest parking charges in Kent - as doing so would cause more congestion and worsen air quality.

Rates set by Canterbury City Council are the most expensive in the county, with motorists having to fork out as much as £3.50 an hour to park up.

The fees are the authority's biggest money-maker - but calls to offer discounts to district residents have long been made.

Opposition councillors and critics of the high charges argue a reduced rate would help boost footfall and trade.

They have previously called on the council's leaders to “screw some money out of the tourists” rather than those living in the district.

But speaking at a cabinet meeting, Cllr Joe Howes, from the ruling Conservative party, said offering a reduction would be a bad move.

"If we lower prices, surely you're going to encourage more people to drive into the city as it is a bonus and perk," he said.

"It'll be cheap so people will come in. Therefore air quality will worsen, congestion will worsen and we're going to create a bit of a mess.

"It's not just maths we need to think about in this. We have declared a climate emergency so we have a policy where we're trying to encourage greater use of alternative modes of travel.

"We want to encourage people to have hybrid, or more importantly, electric vehicles.

"I would not support this because of the detrimental impact it would have on our environment.

"The only way I would support something like this would be as a carrot to encourage people to use electric vehicles."

"I would not support this because of the detrimental impact it would have on our environment..."

Other councillors echoed the "mixed messaging" reasoning, stressing how encouraging more travel would go against the climate emergency - which aims to see the council become carbon net-zero by 2030.

However, Cllr Mike Sole (Lib Dem) - who brought forward the motion for cheaper parking - says a resident discount would increase footfall in the city and the coastal towns, and help improve rental yields.

His proposed cut-price tariff would give residents a discount for up to four hours in any of the authority’s car parks that have been installed with number plate recognition cameras.

"Quite simply it gives something back to residents who every year get very upset when parking charges increase," he said.

"A reduction in costs for them would support the local retail and hospitality trade, encouraging residents to stay longer and helping those in tight financial times.

"The administrative side is very straightforward, we already know which cars are in the district, discounts would only apply to the ANPR car parks and no new additional registration or complex admin would be required.

"Simple rule is, 'you live in the area, register your car for ANPR and you get your discount'. It's a good news story."

A report by the council's head of transport Richard Moore predicts a 20% discount for residents would result in an annual loss of about £450,000 in income.

Council bosses have not fully downplayed the prospect of reduced rates, saying they will "continue to explore" ways in which the ANPR could be used to further introduce differential parking.

The potential for cheaper resident rates will therefore remain on the radar for the future.

Leader Ben Fitter-Harding said: "When we first introduced ANPR, a resident discount was a long-held ambition.

"However, what we've learned since then is there are much more focused and targeted ways we can use the technology to offer benefits that are tangible to residents."

Cllr Fitter-Harding pointed towards the authority's free parking arrangement in Whitstable between 8.30am and 10am, and a £10 price cap on some city car parks.

He also stressed how with the council's different price banding, residents can park slightly further away from the main car parks to get smaller rates.

"There is a much bigger discount if you park at Castle Street than if you go down the road to Watling Street," he said.

"That differential is 50% so it's a significant discount you can get by making a choice."