Parking in Maidstone compared: every council car park and its 2026 tariff, the cheapest all-day options, on-street charges, permits, blue badge rules and PCNs.
Where you leave the car makes a real difference to what you pay. Parking in Maidstone means choosing between 17 council car parks and 12 on-street areas, and the price for the same three hours swings from £3.25 at Lockmeadow to £5.25 on King Street. This guide sets out every council car park with its published tariff, which ones are cheapest for a quick shop and which for the whole day, what on-street parking costs, how permits and season tickets work, and what happens if you pick up a ticket. Every figure comes from Maidstone Borough Council’s own published charges.
One thing to note before anything else: all council car parks are enforced daily and charges still apply on bank holidays (Maidstone Borough Council, car parks). There is no free bank holiday parking here.
The quick answer
For a short stop near the shops, Mill Street and Mote Road are the cheapest of the short stay car parks at £1.35 an hour. If you only need half an hour, Brewer Street East and Wheeler Street both do 30 minutes for 85p. For anything longer, Lockmeadow is the value pick by a clear margin: £4.55 for four hours and £9.05 for the rest of the day, in a 567 space car park with 25 disabled bays. And if you are in town on most working days, a season ticket beats paying daily well before the year is out.
Short stay car parks and 2026 tariffs
Seven car parks are classed as short stay. Daytime charges apply between 8am and 6.30pm. To stay past 6.30pm you pay up to that time plus an overnight charge of £2.60, which covers you until 8am.
| Car park | 30 mins | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Street | – | £1.35 | £2.70 | £4.05 | £5.45 | 131 |
| Mote Road | – | £1.35 | £2.70 | £4.10 | £5.45 | 96 |
| Brewer Street East | 85p | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | 61 |
| Wheeler Street | 85p | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | 65 |
| Medway Street | – | £1.70 | £3.40 | £5.00 | £6.75 | 60 |
| Palace Avenue | – | £1.70 | £3.40 | £5.00 | £6.75 | 40 |
| King Street | – | £1.75 | £3.50 | £5.25 | £7.00 | 65 |
Source: the council’s own short stay car park listings. Medway Street has a two metre height barrier, which rules out most vans and roof boxes.
What it means for you: King Street is the most expensive hour in town and Mill Street the cheapest, and over four hours the gap reaches £1.55. If you are only nipping in, Brewer Street East and Wheeler Street are the only two selling a 30 minute ticket at all.
Long stay car parks and 2026 tariffs
Ten car parks take longer stays, with the same 8am to 6.30pm daytime window.
| Car park | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours | 5 hours | Over 5 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockmeadow | £1.30 | £2.60 | £3.25 | £4.55 | £6.45 | £9.05 |
| Brunswick Street | £1.35 | £2.70 | £4.10 | £5.45 | £6.80 | £9.45 |
| College Road | £1.35 | £2.70 | £4.10 | £5.45 | £6.80 | £9.45 |
| Well Road | £1.35 | £2.70 | £4.10 | £5.45 | £6.80 | £9.45 |
| Lucerne Street | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.45 |
| Sittingbourne Road | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.45 |
| Union Street East | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.45 |
| Union Street West | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.45 |
| Barker Road | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.70 |
| Brooks Place | £1.50 | £3.00 | £4.45 | £5.95 | £7.45 | £9.70 |
Source: the council’s own long stay car park listings.
Lockmeadow is the outlier and the one to remember. It is the largest car park in the town at 567 spaces, it undercuts everything else at every duration, and it is the only council car park with no overnight charge at all between 6.30pm and 8am. The catch is the market: parts of Lockmeadow are used for Maidstone Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and are closed to cars on those days.
Brooks Place, Lockmeadow, Lucerne Street, Union Street West and Well Road all have two metre height barriers. Brooks Place is tiny, at five spaces.
On-street parking
On-street bays are charged 8am to 6pm and are free from 6pm to 8am and all day on Sundays, which is the closest thing to free parking the town centre offers. Bays are marked on Union Street, Mill Street, King Street, Brewer Street, Church Street, Wheeler Street, County Road, College Horseway, James Whatman Way and Albion Place.
The standard on-street tariff is 80p for 30 minutes, £1.50 for an hour, £2.25 for 90 minutes and £3.00 for two hours. James Whatman Way is priced separately and more cheaply: 70p for 30 minutes, £1.50 for an hour, £2 for 90 minutes, £2.50 for two hours, £3.50 for three and £4.50 for four (Maidstone Borough Council, on-street parking).
What it means for you: if you are coming in for an evening meal or on a Sunday, park on the street and pay nothing. For a two hour weekday visit, James Whatman Way saves you 50p over any other on-street bay and beats several of the short stay car parks.
How to pay
Every council car park now uses ticketless machines, which means no ticket goes on the dashboard. You pay by cash or contactless card at the machine, which will print a receipt if you ask, and the payment is sent straight to the enforcement officers’ handsets. You can also pay by phone through the RingGo app or by calling 01622 260190, which works in all of the council’s car parks.
Permits and season tickets
If you drive in regularly, a season ticket is the cheaper route. The council’s published prices are:
- Six months: £496 for Monday to Friday, £638 for seven days a week.
- Twelve months: £910 for Monday to Friday, £1,163 for seven days a week.
- Off-peak, twelve months: £90, valid in any long or short stay car park between 5pm and 8am, seven days a week.
A twelve month five-day ticket at £910 works out at roughly £3.50 a working day, well under the £9.05 you would pay at Lockmeadow, so it repays itself long before the year is out. Apply at least seven days before you want it to start. Changing vehicle means cancelling and reapplying, with a £30 admin fee deducted from the refund, and you can only claim a refund at all once you have held the permit for more than three months (Maidstone Borough Council, season ticket parking).
One point to check before you buy: the council’s car parks page says season tickets are accepted in every car park apart from Mote Road, while its season ticket page says they can be used in the Mote Road short stay car park and all long stay car parks. The two pages contradict each other, so confirm with parking services if Mote Road is the one you need.
Separate season tickets cover the parks: Mote Park at £45 a year and Cobtree Manor at £50 a year, both limited to Maidstone residents and one per household.
Resident parking permits in the controlled zones cost £25 for a first permit, £25 for a second, £50 for a third and £10 to change or replace one. They last a year and are tied to a specific vehicle registered at your address, so the council asks for an insurance schedule, a V5C, an employer’s letter or a lease agreement as proof. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes cannot get one, and a bedsit qualifies for a single permit only (Maidstone Borough Council, resident parking permits).
Blue badge and motorcycle parking
Blue badge holders can park in any council disabled bay free of charge for up to four hours, and if every disabled bay is taken they may use an ordinary bay free of charge with the badge displayed. On-street, a valid badge means free parking in any on-street bay, including single bays marked outside somebody else’s house. Marked on-street disabled bays sit on County Road, James Whatman Way, King Street, Maidstone High Street, St Faiths Street and Wyke Manor Road.
Motorcycles use the marked motorcycle bays free for up to four hours; park a bike in an ordinary bay and you pay like everyone else. Coach bays at Sittingbourne Road are free. There is nowhere in the borough to park a caravan or motorhome, and sleeping overnight in a vehicle is not permitted.
Is there a park and ride in Maidstone?
No, and this catches people out. Maidstone’s park and ride operated from sites at Willington Street and London Road, run commercially by Arriva from May 2019, and the bus service ended on Saturday 19 February 2022 after passenger numbers failed to recover from the pandemic. The council said at the time it was disappointed but understood the decision (Maidstone Borough Council news, MBC sad to see the end of park and ride). Nothing has replaced it, so the town centre car parks above are the only option.
Parking tickets and how to appeal
A Penalty Charge Notice in Maidstone is £50 or £70 depending on the contravention, halved if you pay within 14 days. Tickets are eight digits prefixed MD.
You can pay and view the photographic evidence at pcn.maidstone.gov.uk, or by automated phone line on 01622 602544, choosing option 2 and replacing the MD with two stars. Appeals also go through the portal, or by email to parkingappeals@midkent.gov.uk, within 14 days. Decisions take up to three weeks, and if an appeal made inside the first 14 days is refused, the council may grant a further 14 days at the discounted rate. Beyond that the route runs through a Notice to Owner and ultimately to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal (Maidstone Borough Council, parking tickets).
Frequently asked questions
Which is the cheapest car park in Maidstone?
For a full day, Lockmeadow at £9.05 for over five hours, and it is cheaper at every duration than any other long stay car park. For an hour or two, Mill Street and Mote Road are the cheapest short stay options at £1.35 an hour.
Is parking free in Maidstone on Sundays or bank holidays?
On-street bays are free all day on Sundays and every evening from 6pm to 8am. Council car parks are not: they are enforced daily and charges still apply on bank holidays.
How many car parks does Maidstone have?
The council runs 17 car parks and 12 on-street parking areas across the borough. Seven car parks are short stay and ten are long stay, and there are also privately run car parks in the town, including the one at Fremlin Walk.
Do blue badge holders pay for parking in Maidstone?
No. A valid blue badge means free parking in any council disabled bay for up to four hours, free parking in an ordinary bay if the disabled bays are full, and free parking in any on-street bay.
Does Maidstone still have a park and ride?
No. The Willington Street and London Road park and ride, run by Arriva, closed on 19 February 2022 and has not been replaced.
How much is a parking fine in Maidstone?
£50 or £70 depending on the contravention, reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days. You have 14 days to appeal through the council’s PCN portal.
Sources
- Maidstone Borough Council, car parks, including the council’s short stay and long stay car park maps that carry the individual tariffs and bay counts
- Maidstone Borough Council, on-street parking
- Maidstone Borough Council, season ticket parking
- Maidstone Borough Council, resident parking permits
- Maidstone Borough Council, parking tickets
- Maidstone Borough Council news, MBC sad to see the end of park and ride
Tariffs are those published by Maidstone Borough Council and were checked in August 2026. Charges are reviewed periodically, so glance at the machine or the council page before you pay. If you are visiting the town for the day, our guides to bin collections and council tax bands cover the other things new residents ask about first.
Image: the entrance to Fremlin Walk car park on Fairmeadow, one of Maidstone’s privately run town centre car parks rather than a council one. Photo by OathOn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entrance_sign_for_Fremlin_Walk_Car_Park_on_Fairmeadow,_Maidstone,_Kent_England,_featuring_a_white_Citro%C3%ABn_C4_X_with_registration_MM25_UJB_entering_the_building.jpg).
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