DISABLED drivers who are charged for parking in Denbighshire car parks will get an extra hour for free after a long campaign by a county councillor.

Denbigh county councillor, Mark Young, branded charging blue badge holders for parking as shameful after a couple visiting the town for Christmas shopping were fined for not having a pay and display ticket.

Denbighshire was the only county that charged blue badge holders parking fees or did not give concessions.

Cllr Young has campaigned for the charges to be dropped and has hailed a partial victory in his quest with the council now giving a free hour to disabled drivers on top of the time allocated to them on their ticket.

He said: “It’s over a year since I spoke up about this issue. There was a motion before councillors and it’s great that we have come to an agreement to give additional time on top of the ticket time. The biggest concern I had from people coming to me was if they just bought an hour ticket and you’re severely disabled it’s not easy to get into town and back in an hour. Now people are happy with the compromise for an extra hour.”

Rhyl South East county councillor Brian Jones, the cabinet member responsible for transport, said: “We are delighted to be introducing this scheme in Denbighshire

“The extra hour is deemed as a “reasonable adjustment” under the Equality Act 2010 and has also been implemented by some other councils who charge blue badge holders for parking.

“All blue badge holders will need to display a valid badge and they will be granted an extra hour on top of the expiry time printed on their pay and display ticket. Civil enforcement officers working in a car park will allow an additional hour to the time displayed.

“It is not essential for blue badge holders to park in a disabled bay to receive the extra hour. The majority of blue badge holders  usually park in disabled bays as there are usually spaces available and they are generally located closer to pedestrian accesses. However if there are no spaces and they need to park in other parking bays, the additional hour will still be applicable.

“We look forward to getting this scheme underway and will be monitoring its success”.