Churches in Enfield Town have claimed they were not consulted about the introduction of Sunday parking charges and want the move reversed.

Enfield Council introduced similar charges to weekday prices for drivers parking in the town centre on Sundays last month amid criticism from Conservative councillors and MPs, traders and motorists.

Councillor Chris Bond (Lab), cabinet member for environment, told the Enfield Independent in December that he agreed with churches and traders to implement the plan in the first week of January.

But Nancy Hands, deputy chair of Enfield Town and Forty Hill Churches, said all of the ministers in Enfield Town had made it clear that they were not consulted by the council.

She said: “None of them were approached or consulted by Cllr Bond or anyone else on this subject, and there’s been absolutely nothing from the council since we complained.

“None of us voted for this and the churches have already seen the effects on their congregations, with a significantly lower number of people attending than usual.

“There's a pretty strong groundswell of opinion against this.”

The partnership represents Enfield Baptist Church, Enfield Citadel of the Salvation Army, Jesus Church in Forty Hill, Our Lady of Mt Carmel & St George, St Andrew’s Parish Church, Trinity Church, Enfield and St John Methodist Church.

The Enfield Independent understands that Conservative councillors are planning to start a petition calling for the reversal of the charges, which could make up to £100,000 for the council.

A bid to stop the plan on the grounds that it would cripple the town centre’s businesses was blocked by Labour councillors at a meeting last month.

Cllr Bond dismissed the suggestion that the charges would hit Sunday trading in answers to questions put to him by his Conservative counterpart Cllr Terry Neville.

He said: “There was no published evidence to confirm that an increase in parking charges would result in long-term harm to the town centre.

“In fact, by ensuring a better turnover of spaces, our proposals should help increase the number of spaces available for shoppers on Sundays.”

Westminster Council has been forced to put a similar scheme on hold after the High Court granted campaigners a judicial review of the decision on the grounds that consultation could be inadequate.