Waitrose has installed its new parking ticket machines, heralding the start of a pay and display system for shoppers. Work started back in March removing the barriers and ticket hut and now the loss of free parking is a step nearer. Caroline Sullivan, Branch Manager at Waitrose in Monmouth, said: "Following very careful consideration and extensive feedback from our customers, Waitrose Monmouth's car park is becoming pay and display from Monday 15th September. "This is to improve the customer experience and respond to our customers' requests, with the desired outcome being to ensure parking spaces are more readily available throughout the week, particularly at peak trading times." Parking for customers will be available with time limits of 30 minutes or two hours, allowing them time to also shop elsewhere if required. Waitrose customers will apparently receive a full refund of the cost of their parking if they spend over a minimum amount. If parking for 30 minutes, the minimum spend is £5 and for two hours it is £25. Parking charges will operate from 9am to 6pm, six days a week (Monday-Saturday). According to Waitrose, disabled badge holders can continue to use the car park free of charge. Concern has been rising about where clients of Chippenham Doctor's Surgery will park in order to be able to visit the doctor. A Waitrose spokesperson has announced that there is to be no free parking provision for clients of the surgery. Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) confirms that the land was sold with the only stipulation being that the supermarket should not charge for parking while the neighbouring public car parks were free. They add that there is a small car park for visitors to the doctor's surgery, negating the need for parking in the Waitrose carpark. Disputes have arisen ever since the sale as to whether the carpark is built on Chippenham Field, and therefore subject to village green status, or if the land belonged to MCC, who therefore had the right to sell to Waitrose for car parking, paid or unpaid. The matter of paid parking has caused a whirl of social media outrage. The Facebook group 'Monmouth New Businesses' has had a record 213 comments so far on the matter. There is condemnation of the move, ranging in reasoning from the original issue of the land being public so not being eligible for parking charges to people pointing out that they rarely spend £25 on a shop. Mothers have complained that collecting a ticket, in the rain, with toddlers and babies in tow is impractical and others are now calling for an out of town supermarket with free parking. However, some members of the online group defend the parking fee by pointing out that the carpark is often full of people other than Waitrose shoppers. Also, many feel that paying a little extra for the convenience of parking in town is justified and necessary.