Gravesham's new parking restrictions have once again come under fire, as residents question whether they're just about "making money".

Carole Beeney, of Northcote Road, has been left frustrated by the new regulations, which will see her charged £15 a year for a permit she believes is unnecessary.

The 39-year-old teaching assistant, who works at nearby Cecil Road Primary School, said people have been left paying for something they "didn't want, and don't need".

She said: "There are a lot of issues with parking, but it’s in the evening – having permits during the day won’t make any difference.

"I’ve spoken to quite a few neighbours and some parents at the school, who have also expressed their views on the pointlessness of it.

"The new restrictions, which are coming into force in May, will mean the council is charging us £15 a year for a scheme that won’t help the parking problem.

"I haven’t spoken to a single person who has said they want this, but when I spoke to the council the response was that everyone was in favour of the new policy."

Carole added that the restrictions - which will apply between 12pm and 1pm each day - are supposedly designed to stop commuters parking there during the day.

She said: "Commuters aren’t a problem because the road is so far from the town centre – nobody parks here and goes into London.

"School times can be busy, but it’s evenings that are the problem. It’s due to the sheer number of houses, cars and lack of spaces."

During the consultation period, 70 objections were received from residents of Zone 08, which contains 268 properties and includes Northcote Road.

This means just 26% of people objected, falling below the required 50% it would take for the proposals to be amended.

However, the main concerns echoed Carole's - that parking problems emerge in the evenings, not during the day.

It comes after the future of two bowls clubs was left "in jeopardy", after restrictions were announced around the green in Clarence Place, which also come into force in May.

The situation, which has affected both the Windmill and Belle Vue Bowls Clubs, sparked outcry on social media, but Gravesham council defended its decision.

Nick Brown, director of environment and operations at Gravesham council, said: "In 2010, the council introduced several controlled parking zones on the edge of the town centre, to ensure residents can park in the streets where they live.

"At the start of 2018, a review of those existing controlled parking zones started, and some additional areas were included, such as Northcote Road.

"Throughout the review period, officers conducted two informal and one formal consultation, to ensure that whatever the council proposed to introduce had majority support from residents.

"All residents will have different parking behaviours and times that they need to park, and so will have different views on how they wish to see a parking scheme operate.

"For this reason the council has to go with the majority viewpoint of the residents."

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