Parking charges will be introduced at two country parks from September 2.

Medway Council has confirmed visitors to the Riverside Country Park and Capstone Country Park will have to pay £2.50 to park for the day from September 2.

Parking meters were installed last month at the two venues, but were met with criticism from residents.

Regular visitors can purchase a season pass for £60 per year and blue badge holders will be able to park for free.

Coaches will also be charged at £9 for a day.

Visitors can pay with cash, contactless and card, Apple and Google Pay, as well as through the RingGo app which is used for parking.

The charges were announced as a part of the council’s budget setting in February when the authority was having to cut spending and raise revenue in order to balance the books.

Parking charges across the Towns were also raised by a blanket 60p per hour in a bid to raise revenue and free-parking Mondays were scrapped in September last year.

Concerns have been raised about how these changes would affect businesses, with some saying the increased costs were deterring customers from visiting town centres.

The council says the money gained from the new charges could be reinvested into the country parks and other green spaces across the Towns, as well as helping to alleviate the authority’s financial pressures.

The new charges will come into affect from September 2 at Riverside Country Park and Capstone Country Park, at a cost of £2.50 per vehicle.