A 1,644-signature petition to keep Tenterden parking free overnight is debated at Full Council on 15 October, though the £2 charge has already been dropped.

A petition to keep overnight parking free in Tenterden has gathered 1,644 valid signatures. That is enough to force a debate at Full Council on Thursday 15 October, and the debate is going ahead even though the charge it opposes has already been pulled.

The council’s Petitions Scheme says any petition with 1,500 valid signatures must be debated at a meeting of the whole council. This one clears the line by 144. The report for the meeting is on the council’s website (Consideration of a petition received by the Council: Keep Overnight Parking Free in Tenterden).

What the petition asks for

The petition’s wording, as the council records it, is this:

“Keep Evening Parking Free in Tenterden. We call on Ashford Borough Council not to introduce overnight parking charges in its Tenterden car parks. Tenterden is a rural market town with no mainline railway station, limited evening public transport and limited alternatives to travelling by car. We ask Ashford Borough Council to recognise Tenterden’s particular circumstances and the potential impact of evening parking charges on local businesses, evening workers, clubs and community organisations, as well as the possibility of displacement parking into residential streets.”

It was started by a Tenterden resident in response to the council’s Parking Tariff Review, published on 2 September. That version proposed a £2 charge between 6pm and 8am in every council car park across Ashford and Tenterden from 1 January 2027. Tenterden’s council car parks are Bridewell Lane, Station Road, Recreation Ground and the Leisure Centre.

The charge has already gone. So why debate it?

Because the petition was submitted before the council changed its mind, and the organiser asked for the debate to go ahead anyway.

The sequence matters here:

  • 10 September: Cabinet refused to approve the tariff review and sent it back (Cabinet defers the £2 overnight charge).
  • 2 October: a revised review was published with the overnight charge dropped, not to return for at least 12 months. Bridewell Lane would also become free after 3pm from Monday to Saturday (£2 overnight charge dropped).
  • 8 October: Cabinet met to consider the revised review. As of Saturday morning the council had not published a decision notice or minutes for that meeting, so we cannot yet say what it decided.
  • 15 October: Full Council debates the petition, and is also asked to adopt the Cabinet minutes of 10 September and 8 October.

The report puts it plainly. The Cabinet recommendations “include no overnight parking charges in Tenterden”, but “at the time of publication of this report, those recommendations have not yet been approved, and the lead petitioner has requested the Council still consider the petition”.

Timeline of the Ashford parking tariff review: 2 September 2026 report proposes a £2 overnight charge from 1 January 2027; 10 September Cabinet sends it back; 2 October revised report drops the overnight charge and moves the start to 1 February 2027; 8 October Cabinet considers the revised report; 15 October Full Council debates the 1,644-signature Tenterden petition; 1 February 2027 new tariffs due to start.
How the overnight charge rose and fell, and where the petition lands. Graphic by The Ashford Times
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

What happens in the chamber

The meeting starts at 7pm in the Council Chamber at International House, Dover Place, Ashford (agenda). The petition is item 13. Under the Petitions Scheme:

  • the petition organiser, or someone nominated on their behalf, can speak for up to 10 minutes
  • the Mayor decides how long the debate runs, taking account of public interest, the level of support and how many councillors want to speak
  • each councillor gets one speech of no more than five minutes
  • the council says it “will not normally be sufficient” simply to note the petition: it must decide what else to do in response
  • the organiser is told the outcome in writing within five working days

The options open to councillors range from taking the action requested, to a written response, a public meeting, a wider consultation, or referring the matter to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The portfolio holder responding is Cllr Steve Campkin, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Sustainability.

Given that the charge has already been withdrawn from the Cabinet proposal, the most likely outcome is a formal confirmation on the record that Tenterden car parks stay free overnight. What the petition cannot do is bind a future council: the revised review only rules the charge out for 12 months, and any new overnight proposal would need its own Cabinet report.

What is still changing in Tenterden

The withdrawal of the overnight charge does not mean Tenterden parking stays as it is. If Cabinet approved the revised review on 8 October and Council adopts it, from 1 February 2027:

Stay Now From 1 February 2027
Up to 1 hour £1.30 £1.40
Up to 2 hours £2.60 £2.80
Up to 3 hours £3.90 £4.20
Up to 4 hours £5.20 £5.60
Over 4 hours, long stay £6.00 £7.00

Those rates apply between 8am and 6pm. Bridewell Lane keeps its free Sundays and bank holidays and gains free parking after 3pm from Monday to Saturday. Full details, including permits and season tickets, are on our parking in Ashford page.

What it means for you

  • If you park overnight in Tenterden, nothing changes. The car parks stay free from 6pm to 8am, and the 15 October debate is likely to put that on the record for at least the next year.
  • If you signed the petition, you can watch the debate. Council meetings are open to the public at International House, and borough residents can ask questions at the start of the meeting under item 7.
  • If you run a business, club or evening shift in Tenterden, the longer-term point in the petition is the one to watch: the charge is off the table for 12 months, not for good.
  • If you park in the daytime, the increases above are what to budget for from February.

We will update this story once the council publishes the Cabinet decision of 8 October and the outcome of the 15 October debate.

Sources