FURIOUS residents have accused Marks & Spencer of profiteering after they changed parking charges at two stores in the borough during half term.

Shoppers parking at the Mill Hill Broadway and Temple Fortune branches were shocked to discover the price to park had rocketed to £3 for the first hour, which had been free, and £5 for 90 minutes.

Under the old rules drivers were only asked for £2 per hour after the first hour's parking.

Mill Hill resident Louisa Walters said the changes meant she would completely have to rethink her shopping plans.

The Flower Lane resident of 10 years said: “For a lot of people it's just like a village shop, they use it to pop in and get the bits they need.

“The free parking also benefited the rest of the shops as well as people would nip along to get other things. These charges seem totally out of order.

“There used to be a lot of congestion with cars queuing to get into the car park, but since these new charges have come in it's gone. Maybe that was the real reason for it.”

Customers can redeem the cost of parking, but only after spending £15 in store.

Ms Walters added: “I go there almost every day and get some vegetables as I like to get them fresh, so I rarely spend as much as £15 in one go, so it's just increase the cost of my shopping hugely.

“Yesterday I drove down the Broadway and found a spot outside Iceland, so I went in there to get what I needed. It still costs money to park though.

“I'm sure they must be losing customers as a lot of people I know are also not going there because of this. I did go in the other day and it was much quieter than normal.”

The changes have stirred up similar reactions in Temple Fortune, with a Facebook group being set up to protest against the changes.

A spokesman for M&S said the charges were part of a trial programme and would be reviewed taking customer feedback into account.

She added: “"It's always our intention to ensure that we have parking spaces available for our customers - which is why we are trialling this approach.

“We appreciate that some customers have concerns about the trial. Their feedback is very important to us.”

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