Elderly residents in South London feel they have been treated “like dinosaurs” by a local council who are planning to remove cash parking machines in the borough.

Changes by Bromley Council will see all remaining 131 pay and display parking machines in the borough being removed.

Drivers will now have to pay for their parking using the RingGo app on their smartphones.

At a scrutiny meeting for Bromley Council on November 22, Councillor Sam Webber said the the plans felt “rushed”, and that residents who had complained felt they were “treated like dinosaurs by their local authority”.

He said: “I’ve got to speak up for the 85-year-old lady emailing me saying people aren’t visiting her anymore because they’re getting to her, can’t pay for the parking [with cash], and are driving off again.”

Councillor Mike Botting was also concerned about how elderly residents would react to the change.

He asked council officers: “If I come to you and say I’m a 90-year-old driver, I don’t have a phone, there’s no one with me, and I want to park in that car park.

"What am I going to tell that resident?”

Council officer Chloe Wenbourne said that elderly residents could pay for their parking spaces in advance online, or get a family member to assist them.

She said that the council is trying to educate people to be “more confident” with the RingGo app.

The scheme by Bromley Council to remove the machines was first agreed in 2019, with 30 “zones” across the borough already being cashless.

Ms Wenbourne said there had been “no formal complaints” since the scheme was introduced.

But Councillor Alison Stammers said that no complaints had been received as there is still one pay and display machine left in each car park in Chislehurst.

She said: “You’re unlikely to get more complaints because [residents] have to walk a few yards.”

Cllr Stammers also proposed an amendment to defer the decision on removing the pay and display machines until the council could consult with residents.

She said that over 3,000 patients at Chislehurst Medical Practice are over 65, and that many of these residents use car parks in the borough to access “vital medical services”.

Council documents said that the existing pay and display machines will no longer work after April next year, as phone providers will not support the 3G sims that the machines run on.

The documents said that the cost of replacing the machines would be £800,000.

Councillor Julie Ireland pointed out that 27 per cent of parking payments for the borough in the last year had been made by cash, and that her that her emails have been “full to the brim” of residents saying the change is unfair.

Councillor Michael Tickner said: “It makes no sense to carry on spending money on [carrying coins].

"Almost everyone that drives has a mobile phone. If they don’t like the app or the technology, they can just phone up and do it speaking to somebody.”

Also supporting the changes, Councillor Simon Fawthrop said that he found the objections to the plans “hypocritical”, as the scheme will help generate money for the council for projects that require funding.

At Cllr Fawthrop’s comments, a member of the public shouted: “What happened to freedom of choice?”

The committee voted to approve the recommendations made by council officers, with the remaining pay and display machines in the borough to be removed before February next year.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.