Plans to introduce parking charges in Richmond Park could be shelved if opposition MPs can manage to stall the order passing Parliament before the general election is called.

Ministers need to force through plans to charge up to £1 an hour to park in Richmond Park (to a daily maximum of £3), by Easter if, as widely expected, the election goes ahead on May 6.

On Tuesday, an order was laid down in parliament, meaning the charges will pass as statute if they are not challenged by March 23 – which is unlikely.

The Liberal Democrats have already tabled an Early Day Motion asking for the charges to be reviewed and Putney MP Justine Greening said she will challenge the order and hopes MPs will also help press the issue.

With Good Friday falling on April 2, that leaves little time for debate.

Ms Greening added the Government was likely to implement an avalanche of new bills before the election, starting with a bill on proportional respresentation next week, which would put pressure on debating time in both houses.

She said: “The next few weeks is expected to be a busy time in the parliamentary timetable as it looks to push things through before the election. In seeking to have a debate the hope is the Government finds it hard to find time to push this through. It is going to be very tight.”

Ms Greening was one of the speakers at Saturday’s protest in Richmond Park.

At the cross-party march, she said: “They [the charges] will do the exact opposite of what we should be doing, encouraging people to go to parks. They will create a barrier for people coming to the park.”

The case for charging by Colin Buttery, director of parks and deputy chief executive of the The Royal Parks

“Bushy Park and Richmond Park are unique, well-loved and well managed landscapes. “The Royal Parks believes that the introduction of parking charges will help to improve the atmosphere of these parks and address problems caused by car park congestion. “The car parks become full very quickly and, at times, there can be queues of cars trying to find a space. “By introducing parking charges we hope that private car usage will be discouraged and that more people will choose to walk, cycle or take public transport. Blue Badge holders will, of course, be exempt from the charges. “The parking fees have been set at a reasonable level and compare favourably with car parks locally and at similar amenities. “Maintaining the parking areas is very costly. “Many are in need of repair and have a negative impact both visually and on the ecology of the surrounding parkland. “Significant investment is needed in order to improve them and the monies raised from parking charges will be reinvested into these areas. “By introducing charges, the people who use the car parks most frequently, and who get the most out of them, will contribute the most to their upkeep.”

The case against charges by Wandsworth Council Leader, Councillor Edward Lister.

“The extremely large number of people at the rally on Saturday proves the strength of feeling on the subject. “The charges would be very unfair to park users who get to the park by public transport, which is not good anyway, and will have the inevitable impact of parking restrictions being introduced around Roehampton Gate. “Unfortunately, Mrs Hodge seems quite determined to ride roughshod over public opinion and has no qualms about ignoring the results of the Royal Parks Agency’s own consultation exercise, which showed a massive 84 per cent rejected the idea. “For a Minister to ignore such overwhelming public opposition is quite extraordinary. “What Mrs Hodge doesn’t seem to recognise is that most visitors to the park have no choice about taking the car because the public transport options are virtually non-existent. “She seems unconcerned about the effect charges will have on adjoining residential areas like Roehampton, which will suffer overspill parking as drivers seek to avoid the charge.

“The charges will also be particularly unfair on older residents, parents with very young children and others with limited incomes. All of which makes the move to impose car park charges indefensible.”