DARLINGTON Borough Council has been accused of ‘taxing the disabled’ with proposed parking charges that could see blue badge users pay multiple times a day.

Campaigners say plans to charge disabled parkers in council car parks are dealing a further blow to vulnerable people already reeling from cuts to benefits and services.

Disability activists are urging the authority to axe the plans - or at least provide transferable parking tickets.

Those with disabilities often use several car parks during trips to the town, necessitated by the need to get between facilities or from one end of it to another.

Currently, council car parks allow blue badge holders to park for three hours without charge.

However, recent budget proposals could see the authority follow some other councils in charging for disabled spaces.

The proposals – expected to generate £50,000 a year – could see disabled drivers pay every time they change car parks.

At a recent budget consultation meeting, one woman asked why she should be forced to pay multiple times a day.

She said: “As a disabled driver, I’m concerned about parking charges – sometimes I have to park in two or three places to get where I need to go.

“If I have to pay every time I go to a car park, I could be paying three times a day and I cannot get my head around that.”

Cllr Nick Wallis – who sits on a parking and traffic regulations committee – confirmed tickets between car parks were not transferable, saying the woman had raised a point worth investigating.

A spokeswoman for DBC said the plans were still at consultation stage, but confirmed the £50,000 estimated revenue did not account for disabled drivers paying multiple times.

In fact, figures were reduced on the assumption charges would force blue badge holders onto the streets, where they can park without limit for free.

Gordon Pybus, of Darlington Association on Disability, said forcing disabled drivers to use on-street parking could block spaces for non-blue badge holders – thus reducing revenue.

He also said the building of the town’s pedestrian heart had reduced on-street parking, a situation then mitigated by the provision of Shopmobility - a service now set to fold as a result of budget cuts.

Mr Pybus called for disabled parking charges to be axed, saying cars were a necessity, not a luxury, for the disabled.

He said: “Disabled people don’t have a choice, that’s why parking charges are wrong.

“It can be seen as a tax on the disabled, they’re being used as an easy target."

Darlington’s MP Jenny Chapman criticised the Government and the council for policies disproportionately affecting the disabled.

She said: “There is no doubt disabled people are bearing the brunt of cuts announced in the budget this week.

“The council need to reconsider parking charges in light of the changes the Government are going to make to PIP (Personal Independence Payments).

“The idea you can make more and more from people with the least while giving tax cuts to high earners is abhorrent.”

Cllr Wallis said the measure worked well in other towns and said cabinet would take feedback into consideration when making decisions.

The authority is set to consult with those affected, a process beginning with the sending of 500 letters next week.

For more information about the budget, visit: darlington.gov.uk/microsites/budget-2016-home.