A harbour town is at war with its council after new car parking charges were introduced at free car parks.
For years, drivers have been able to visit Queenborough, on Sheppey, and its host of small independent businesses without having to pay.
The empty Queenborough Library car park on April 1. Picture: Mike Whiting
But on April 1, Swale council started charging at Park Road and Queenborough Library car parks.
Fees were also introduced at Front Brents in Faversham, Grafton Road in Sittingbourne, Little Oyster in Minster, and Halfway car park in Minster Road.
In Queenborough, there has been major backlash, with traders saying they are losing footfall, pubs barring councillors and even a car parking meter being vandalised.
The new fares were approved at the council’s Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee in November and at a later full council meeting.
Parking charges across the borough are expected to generate £2.7 million of revenue for the authority in the 2025/2026 financial year.
The new fees could raise an extra £36,000 a year for the cash-strapped council, which had to fill a £1.7 million budget gap with money from its reserves to balance its books.
Park Road car park in Queenborough on May 16. Picture: Joe Crossley
It has cost £50,000 to implement the charges, funded by Swale’s Civil Enforcement Reserve.
But now they are in force, Queenborough traders have told KentOnline the car parks are “empty”, much like their businesses.
Simon and Sandra Fowle, the owners of Bosuns, in the High Street, have been fighting against new parking fees since plans for them were first put forward in February 2024.
Councillors voted against those plans a month later. But when the new fees were brought back on the table, they started a petition to show people were against the proposals.
Simon Fowle, outside his business, Bosuns, in Queenborough. Picture: Megan Carr
It gathered around 2,000 signatures. Other petitions calling for charges not to be brought were also set up and raised another 2,000 signatures.
The tea room sits opposite the Park Road car park, which makes it easy for motorists to visit.
Simon, who is a former Queenborough ward councillor, spoke out against them at the November meeting. He said: “Businesses are struggling already, and this is just another nail in our coffin. It’s wrong.”
This week, Sandra said that while she “understands” the council’s need to raise funds, it has not listened to the concerns of businesses.
The 61-year-old said: “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and we’re now empty.
“Small businesses are the ones that are really struggling. Everything’s gone up, not just for us, but for everyone.
Sandra Fowle owner of Bosuns in Queenborough High Street. Picture: Meghan Shaw
“Why should visitors have to pay for car parking charges?
“If you’re coming to Queenborough, you’re here to support small businesses. It’s not a great big place where you’ve got other things to do.
“I understand there’s a reasoning behind it, but you should listen to the people who speak, and we’re the ones who voted them in. They’ve chosen to ignore us.”
Bar manager at the nearby Flying Dutchman, Fayleigh Mcilory, says the Park Road car park is “empty every single day”.
The 31-year-old said: “It’s affecting us massively.
Manager of The Flying Dutchman pub, in Queenborough, Fayleigh Mcilory. Picture: Meghan Shaw
“During the week, we’ve usually got people in the garden when the sun’s out [like today]. But we’re having no one coming in at the moment.
“[It’s] very, very quiet. Everything has halved at least.
“It’s worrying because we’ll end up closing if we don’t get busy, so we need it to go back to free parking.”
The pub has a notice in the window with a list of the barred councillors who voted for the charges.
It’s not the only Queenborough business to do this, with the Rose Inn, The Old House at Home and Admiral’s Arms pubs also taking the measure.
‘You’re Barred!’ Ten Swale councillors have been banned from visiting four pubs in Queenborough. Picture: Meghan Shaw
The Flying Dutchman has barred councillors from visiting it
The banned councillors are: Angela Harrison (Lab, Sheerness); Lloyd Bowen (Con, Teynham & Lynsted); Shelley Cheesman (Lab, Homewood, Sittingbourne); Charles Gibson (Lib Dem, Abbey, Faversham); James Hunt (Con, The Meads); Carole Jackson (Lab, St Anne’s, Faversham); Charlie Miller (Lab, Chalkwell, Sittingbourne).
Cllr Dolley Wooster (Lab, Sheerness), who did not vote for the charges but is the chairwoman of the committee, has also been barred.
Cllr Hunt said while he had never been in the pub before, it was a “real shame”.
But he added: “We made the right decision as councillors to keep the council on the right financial footing.”
Cllr Gibson said: “We have a borough of many communities and we all have to play our part and pay our way.
Faversham councillor Charles Gibson. Picture: Meghan Shaw
“There’s little free car parking in Faversham or Sittingbourne. Those car parks on the Island were a bit of an exception, so we are levelling the playing field.
“We would love to have free car parking all over the borough. It would be great for our businesses and residents.
“But sadly, in the current financial climate, it’s not possible.”
Cllr Shiel and Cllr Bowen declined to comment.
KentOnline has approached Cllrs Harrison, Cheesman, Jackson, Miller, Thompson and Wooster for comment.
The boss of Luna’s Cafe in Railway Terrace, Fedat Surucu, has also barred the councillors.
Fedat Surucu boss of Luna’s Cafe in Railway Street, Queenborough. Picture: Meghan Shaw
The 48-year-old, who started the business almost three years ago, says he has started reimbursing customers for their first hour of parking.
He said: “Parking is the biggest problem on the Island at the moment.
“This affects my business so much because people have to spend a minimum of an hour to eat here.
“All the customers love my food and my service, and I don’t want to lose my customers. I am offering them to pay them for their first hour of parking.
“But if this is the same for the next year, it will cost me too much money.
“I feel sorry for my customers because they just spend only a little bit of money [here] and they have to pay £1.60 an hour for parking. It’s too much to charge.
“The council should give the first two hours free, then charge anytime after that.”
Ray Butcher, the chairman of non-profit community group Castle Connections, says the Knit & Natter Group, run by Age UK has stopped using their hub in Railway Street because of the charges.
Around a dozen different groups, ranging from mum’s clubs to dance and martial arts schools, use the facilities, which is in front of the Queenborough Library car park.
Janice, Marilyn Ward and Ray Butcher, of Castle Connections, celebrate the decision to not bring in parking charges in March 2024
The new parking meter was sprayed with white paint
just a day after the fees were introduced. It is still out of operation at the time of writing (April 22).
Mr Butcher, 76, says some of the other clubs are threatening to go elsewhere as well.
He said: “The car parks are empty most of the time and residents are complaining about it. It’s a real issue.
“We told the council what would happen.
“I am not blaming the councillors. I am blaming the officers as they put forward the plans.
The new parking metre in Queenborough Library car park has been vandalised
“They need to revoke the charges, but they won’t.”
A Swale council spokesman 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.”
In 2024, local amateur historian Desmond Cross tracked down the Queenborough Charter, dating back to 1369, which said the harbour town was “exempt from all taxes and tolls”.
Amateur historian Desmond Cross in the Flying Dutchman pub, Queenborough
The original copy of the Queenborough charter dates back to 1369. Picture: Des Cross/ Kent Archives
Despite the Charter’s discovery, it would not have turned the area – which the latest government deprivation research found was among the poorest places in the UK – into the new Monaco, Isle of Man or Liechtenstein.
Read more here: Hopes dashed for Queenborough Charter to make harbour town into a tax-free haven
After some research, Swale council confirmed the charter had been superseded when the borough of Queenborough was reformed as a municipal borough in 1885.
Additional reporting Meghan Shaw