A residents’ parking zone is being introduced in Epsom for the first time and will inevitably spread to most of the town, according to a senior councillor.

Epsom is one of the few towns in Surrey without residents’ parking zones, making it particularly attractive to commuters and shoppers.

But as of June 1, only residents who have purchased £50 or £75 parking permits will be allowed to park in the designated areas during the restricted times.

Surrey County Council (SCC) has already painted white lines and put up signs in the affected streets in the centre of town. Its aim is to allow residents to park in their own streets.

While the move has delighted some residents, others have raised concerns it will damage a town whose retail centre is already struggling.

Jane Race, from Epsom, said: “Residents’ parking is important, but we need to make it easier for people who are working in Epsom to go to work without extortionate parking charges.

“We have shoppers and commuters parking outside people’s homes because they cannot afford to park in Epsom.

“It is cheaper to go shopping and park in the Westfield Centre in London.”

But Epsom town Councillor Neil Dallen, who is on SCC’s local committee, said the scheme was great news and that it is likely to be extended to other streets.

He said: “It is inevitable that, in years to come, most of Epsom will be residential parking, but we are the only town in Surrey that does not have it.

“We want it to be done little by little, to see what happens.

"If there is a ripple effect and people start parking in different roads to the ones where residents’ parking has been introduced, we want to see where the ripples go.”

Coun Dallen said people should be willing to pay for car parking because “half of the cost for commuters is parking and I do not see why residents who want to park their cars where they live should be inconvenienced”.

Parking for more than five hours currently costs £17.50 in the Ashley Centre car park, £5.20 in Depot Road and the Upper High Street car parks, and £4.20 in Hook Road.

The town hall car park allows a two-hour maximum stay for £2.50, while parking for up to 24 hours costs £12.50 in the Ebbisham Centre and Epsom high street’s private car parks.

An Epsom Council spokesman said parking charges had not risen in more than a year, but there would be a small increase to some charges in July.

He said: “About 1.8m cars park in Epsom town centre each year.

“There has been a small increase in those using car parks in the past year.

“The council has to maintain a balancing – if the charges are too low, commuters using the station and working in central Epsom – will use the car parks to the detriment of shoppers and retailers.

“If the charges are too high, visitors may be put off and there is no evidence this is happening.

“Commuters parking in the roads around the town centre have become a nuisance.”

A Heathcote Road resident questioned whether residents would be guaranteed a parking spot outside their homes under the scheme.

He said: “I do not want residents’ parking. People come here very early in the morning, park and catch the train. Now I will have to buy a permit to park outside my own house.

“There is no guarantee you are going to get a space outside your house.”

The permits will cost £50 a year for the first car, with second and subsequent cars in each household costing £75.

SCC admitted on its website that the permits would not necessarily guarantee a resident a parking place.

It stated: “A resident would have to compete with other permit holders for a bay, but the permit would exempt the holder from the normal time limit imposed upon the parking place.”

A SCC spokeswoman said Epsom Council will enforce and operate the scheme, with residents soon to receive letters on how to apply for permits.

She said there were no current plans to expand the scheme, but SCC will “review the current schemes after they go in to see how they are working.

She said: “There could be more resident schemes in future if there is support from residents and the local committee.”

Residents’ parking has been introduced in the Parade, Laburnum Road, Hereford Road, Heathcote Road, Ladbroke Road, Rosebank / West Street, Clayton Road, Beaconsfield Place, Church Road, Providence Place, Hawthorne Place, Delaporte Close, Adelphi Road, Chalk Lane, and Kingston Road in Ewell.