A priest has hit out at the council – claiming his congregation numbers have dropped because of Sunday parking charges introduced last month.

Father Slawomir Witon, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George Church in London Road, said that since charges were introduced last month, members of his congregation had flocked to neighbouring parishes where they did not have to pay to park.

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.

Fr Witon said: “I do feel that for churchgoers and their families it’s just too expensive – some of them have decided to move to neighbouring parishes.

“I think it’s unfair for people to be put in the position where money becomes an object for people to come to church.”

He added that the reduced rate to park for one hour was ineffective because the church service lasted around two hours, and the council had carried out “very little consultation at all” with church leaders.

Conservative councillors have launched a petition against the move – which could make around £100,000 a year for the council – in a bid to gain the 2,700 signatures needed to force another debate in full council.

Conservative deputy leader, Councillor Henry Lamprecht, said the charges were “absolutely and purely about money”.

He said: “The whole motivation behind this is money despite what the council says about the turnover of parking spaces.

“The aim of our petition is to get enough signatures so we can bring this issue back to the council and have another debate and force them to think again.”

Yesterday the Enfield Town and Forty Hill Churches, which represents seven churches in the town centre, claimed that none of the ministers had been approached by the council over the changes.

The town centre's car parks charge £1 until noon on a Sunday in a bid to reduce the cost to churchgoers.

Cllr Bond said: “We consulted extensively on the introduction of Sunday parking charges in Enfield Town centre and received a number of responses from churches and shops with regards the proposals. After those meetings we adjusted the original proposals and delayed the introduction of the scheme at their request.

“We believe these changes will help to reduce congestion, improve the turnover of parking spaces and encourage people to think about travelling to the town centre by public transport, by cycle and on-foot rather than by car.”

He added he was “ruling nothing out” and was looking at a range of measures to regenerate the borough’s town centres.