Bargoed residents have expressed their anger over being charged for parking permits.
Residents now have to pay £15 a year to park outside their own homes after the charge came into place in April, when Caerphilly County Borough Council took over civil parking enforcement from Gwent Police.
Heolddu Road, Greenfield Street, Francis Street, South Street, Capel Street, Cross Street and Lower Wood Street have been affected.
Resident Andrew Nutt has started a petition against the charges, which were initially set at £30 before the council reduced it to £15.
Mr Nutt said: “We’ve been around all the affected streets and have had a good response.
“It’s £15 now, but no doubt the costs will go up over time. I would rather give the £15 to charity.
“We can’t always guarantee a parking space outside of our house.
“Parking isn’t easy and people end up having to park on other streets. This could cause animosity between residents.”
The permits are required for parking between the hours of 8am and 6pm from Monday to Saturday.
Mr Nutt said: “People are in work for much of these hours so the cars aren’t parked in the streets.
“Permits are putting people off visiting and businesses opening in Bargoed because there’s nowhere to park.
“There’s a free car park by the train station but, if anything, that encourages people to leave Bargoed, which doesn’t help the town at all.”
Gwyneth Hogan, who lives on one of the affected streets, said: “If you can’t find somewhere to park at 5pm you can end up parking on the other side of Bargoed.”
Resident Adrian Jones said: “It’s another stealth tax on the people of Bargoed. There are people in this street struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s generating money for the council coffers.
“Some residents have three cars but they’re not allowed to park more than two, even though they pay for insurance and MOTs.”
Mr Jones added: “I can see the cost going up every year. One day we could be paying £60 or £70. We want to stop this at the start.
“Bargoed never asked for this but it’s been thrusted upon us. It’s all about generating money.”
Resident Lisa Gould said: “In the day it’s not an issue, but it is when people come home from work in the evening.
“It’s disgusting that we have to park outside our own houses when we can hardly park here anyway. We didn’t want the permits.”
On South Street, there is a no-waiting zone in place, which Mr Nutt said “causes problems for the elderly who now can’t be picked up outside of their houses”.
A spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “The cost of residential parking permits was halved following feedback received from the public. The council was planning to introduce a new charge of £30 per permit from April 2019, but following a period of public consultation the cost was reduced to £15 per permit.”
Cllr Sean Morgan, Deputy Leader of the council said: “We listened to the feedback from local residents and lowered the price of the permits accordingly. This move brings us in line with other local authorities and ensures that our permit scheme complies with the council’s agreed policy as part of our recent takeover of new parking enforcement powers.”