Darlington’s ailing parking system has been criticised amid concerns visitors are struggling to pay for their stay. 

Information on parking meters has been labelled outdated, some don’t take card payments and visitors are forced to ask local businesses for change, councillors have been told. 

The concerns were raised by Conservative cllr Pauline Culley at a Darlington Borough Council meeting on Thursday, who called on the authority to improve the service. 

It comes after charges for all council-run short and long stay car parks during the daytime were re-introduced from July 3 after Labour said there was “no provision” put in place to continue the offer in the council’s budget that was approved earlier this year.

The party, which now controls the council alongside the Liberal Democrats, said the decision was made after a review of its books found it would cost an additional £1.7m per year in lost revenue, as council leader Cllr Steve Harker criticised the previous Conservative regime for mismanaging the finances.

“Many businesses commented that they had noticed already that footfall was down since bringing in the parking charges and some feel their customers will now use nearby retail parks instead,” cllr Culley said. 

The Northern Echo: Labour said there was “no provision” put in place to continue the offer in the council’s budget that was approved earlier this year.Labour said there was “no provision” put in place to continue the offer in the council’s budget that was approved earlier this year. (Image: The Northern Echo)

“Businesses have asked if the Labour and Lib Dem partnership could help them keep afloat and compromise by looking at offering one hour free or some other incentive to entice people back into town.”

Over two thousand people have signed a petition from the town’s MP Peter Gibson, calling on the local authority to keep the two hours free parking offer which was originally introduced by the Conservatives in 2019.

Mr Gibson said he launched the campaign after being contacted by dozens of concerned local businesses and residents.

“I have had lots of conversations with residents and business owners about the impact of withdrawing the two hours free parking offer, people are genuinely concerned, and have already begun to see a decline,” he said. 

“I will be presenting the final petition in the House of Commons to make sure my constituents' voices are heard loud and clear, that this is a dreadful decision, and a decision which need not have been taken.

“I’m asking Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition to think again and listen to the people and businesses, who are concerned for the future of Darlington’s high street.”

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Cllr Chris McEwan, cabinet member for economy, said the multiple parking apps used by car parks causes confusion for motorists and is something he’s seeking to remedy. 

He said: “On parking, we need to make it easy. One of the things we need to look at is the whole apps situation. It’s the worst pain in the world having to download another app, so it is something we’re looking at. I haven’t got the answers but I will have a discussion about how we can progress that.”