The “free after 3pm” parking promotion in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre’s car parks in town came to an end at the beginning of this month, with charges now applying until 6pm.
Liberal Democrat campaigner and candidate Connor Stallard said he was “really disappointed” with the move and warned it could “drive away” customers from shops in Hartlepool town centre.
“It’s the last thing our town needs,” he said. “I’ve been across town this week talking to local businesses and the feedback from them is they are really concerned. These charges risk driving trade away and turning Hartlepool into a ghost town. I’m calling for an urgent rethink on these charges so we can ensure local residents and businesses can benefit.”
A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesperson said the charges were needed to offset the move to freeze core council tax.
Free Sunday parking is also no longer in place across council-owned on-street and off-street parking sites and a charging structure has been brought in to bring Sunday in line with the rest of the week.
The decisions were made as part of the council’s budget for 2026/27 which was put forward by the then-ruling Labour administration and was unanimously supported by all councillors in attendance at the decision-making meeting.
Local authority reports from March’s budget meeting stated removing the parking promotions would save £60,000.
The council spokesperson added: “These changes form part of the council’s 2026/27 budget which was approved earlier this year. The charges reflect a requirement for the car parking service to generate additional income to offset the decision to freeze core council tax.”
Author: Ian
Reporter and author of Pop Life, covering all things news, music and local events.