Pubs in a seaside town have rallied together to bar ten councillors from their premises, after they voted to end free parking – which they claim would ‘kill’ their local business.
Drivers parking at the Park Road car park in Queenborough, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, will be hit by a charge of £1.60-per-hour from April 1 – despite it previously being free.
The new parking charges received significant local backlash, spurring the creation of multiple petitions, one of which reached more than 2,800 signatures.
Signs have been posted outside pubs banning ten councillors who sit on the Swale Borough Council’s Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee, which backed the new charges in November 2025.
The barred councillors include: Angela Harrison, James Hunt, Lloyd Bowen, Carole Jackson, Dolley Wooster, Charlie Miller, Shelley Cheesman, Hannah Perkin, Charles Gibson and Terry Thompson.
Nine of the ten councillors voted to impose charges. Notably Councillor Wooster abstained as chair.
Lauren Shorter, a barmaid at The Old House at Home, said she thought the parking charges were ‘unfair’.
The 34-year-old said the pub had decided to ban the local councillors as they were fed up with ‘losing local business’.
Drivers parking at the Park Road car park in Queenborough, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, will be hit by a charge of £1.60-per-hour from April 1 – despite it previously being free
Lauren Shorter, a barmaid at The Old House at Home, said she thought the parking charges were ‘unfair’. The 34-year-old (pictured) said the pub had decided to ban the local councillors as they were fed up with ‘losing local business’
Ms Shorter added: ‘Everyone is suffering bad. It is really bad. Some days you’ll take in less than half of what you normally would if people could park over there.’
On Thursday just one car was parked out of the 25 available spaces, while the free street parking nearby was nearly full.
Councillors have also been barred from the pub The Flying Dutchman.
Bar managers Fayleigh Mcilroy, 31, and Matthew Nichol, 44, agreed they would ‘politely refuse’ to serve the ten councillors were they to come through the pub’s doors.
Mr Mcilroy described the choice as ‘very selfish’, adding: ‘They are not here every day and they are not using the car park. So, therefore, it didn’t affect them and it still does not affect them.
‘Other people that actually have signed the petitions, that is who it affects, and they should have been listened to and they weren’t.’
Mr Nichol said: ‘Local councils should be aiming to support local businesses, but I don’t feel like that has happened.’
Asa Gibbarb, the manager of The Rose Inn, said the parking charges were ‘killing’ his business – which he has run for ten years.
The new parking charges received significant local backlash on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent (pictured) – which spurred the creation of multiple petitions, one of which reached more than 2,800 signatures
Signs have been posted outside pubs banning ten councillors who sit on the Swale Borough Council’s Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee, which backed the new charges in November 2025
The 39-year-old said the charges are also impacting his staff, who ‘have got nowhere to park’.
Mr Gibbarb added: ‘It is just not good for us, it is not good for anyone.
‘It is killing us and I’m sure it is killing the pubs down the road as well.’
Whereas the tea shop Bosuns has decided to keep their doors open to the councillors, over the belief ‘they wouldn’t even know where we are’.
Sandra Fowle, who owns the tea shop Bosuns with her husband Simon, said barring them ‘makes no difference’ – as ‘those councillors never come to Queenborough, they just don’t use us’.
The 61-year-old, who has owned the business for six years, added: ‘You see people, they will drive in, look at the car park and drive away.
‘All your doing is sending them to the bigger places – you’re stopping them, they’re going to Starbucks and they’re going to Costa where there is free parking.
‘You’ve stopped the small businesses here.’
Bar managers Fayleigh Mcilroy and Matthew Nichol (pictured) agreed they would ‘politely refuse’ to serve the ten councillors were they to come through the pub’s doors
Asa Gibbarb, the manager of The Rose Inn, (pictured) said the parking charges were ‘killing’ his business – which he has run for ten years
Ray Featherstone MBE, who holds a blue badge which would excuse him from the charges in the car park, said he is parking on the street ‘in solidarity’ for those made to pay.
The 81-year-old said the charges are ‘forcing cars on to the road’ and ‘making it difficult for other people’.
He added: ‘I can’t see how the council can think they can possibly raise capital by doing this.
‘They’ve obviously got some idea they’re going to improve the funding of the council by charging all the motorists.
‘I think there must be another way of making money. I think they’ve made a big mistake.’
The ten barred councillors were contacted for comment.
Councillor Hunt said: ‘I can understand the businesses not being happy with the parking charges, especially as it isn’t something they have had to contend with in Queenborough before.
‘As Councillors, we do have difficult decisions to make. The Council has been under immense financial pressure in recent years and the most difficult decision we have to make are those that ensure we have a balanced budget.
‘Car parking charges is part of the budget that must be considered across the borough.
Ray Featherstone MBE (pictured), who holds a blue badge which would excuse him from the charges in the car park, said he is parking on the street ‘in solidarity’ for those made to pay
‘As a councillor in Sittingbourne, rather than one on the Isle of Sheppey, I must look at the fairness of businesses in the area I represent, who don’t have the benefit of free parking in Council car parks.
‘Is it fair that businesses in one area get a benefit that other areas do not? Ideally all car parks would be free, but that isn’t possible financially.
‘I don’t believe the car parking charges in Queenborough will work, as people won’t pay to park when there is on-street parking that is available to park for free, hence my proposal that this decision be revisited later in the year when we can see if the expected income has been generated, and hopefully use that as an argument that charging in these car park isn’t the right thing to do due to the expected income not being realised.’
A Swale Borough Council spokesperson said: ‘Our car parks and parking services incur ongoing maintenance and operational costs, which must be managed as part of our legal obligation to set a balanced budget.
‘Revised parking charges remain lower than those in many neighbouring coastal areas and bring the affected sites in line with other car parks across the borough, including those in Sheerness, Sittingbourne, and Faversham.
‘Feedback received from statutory consultations led to changes in the original proposals, including the removal of charges during school drop off and pick up times at selected car parks to address safety concerns.
‘Seasonal pricing has also been introduced at the Little Oyster and Park Road car parks to help manage demand during peak periods, while maintaining availability for residents during quieter times of the year.
‘Here at Swale, we want to support high streets and continue to assist small businesses through measures such as business rates relief.
‘With the alignment of parking charges now in place we will review the impact of our policies across the borough, in due course.’
