Hartlepool blue badge holder parking charges to be reinstated

Blue badge holders will have to pay for parking at Hartlepool Borough Council car parks

Blue badge holders will have to pay for parking at a council's car parks from as early as next month.

Hartlepool Borough Council suspended charges in July while it consulted with the disabled community.

Concerns were raised about access to pay and display meters and the need for improved signage.

The charges are expected to be brought back in January following consultations with Hartlepool's Community Led Inclusion Partnership.

An "action plan" has now been agreed and work will be carried out to resolve issues.

The council's managing director Denise McGuckin said: "The works we envisage to have done by January, which is why we're not asking for charges to be reimplemented immediately."

The suspension may be lifted later if there are delays to the work.

Figures from December 2021 revealed there were about 6,000 blue badge holders in Hartlepool.