Labour has joined the Conservatives in criticising controversial plans for new car parking charges in Redcar and Cleveland.

Redcar and Cleveland Council’s controlling independent/Liberal Democrat coalition was urged last week to reconsider what have been described as “short sighted” and “harmful” plans with local Conservative MPs Simon Clarke and Jacob Young publishing an open letter to council leader Mary Lanigan.

The opposition Labour group on the local authority is understood to have met on Monday evening to formalise its position, but ahead of this its leader Alec Brown claimed the charges would already have been in place were it not for its intervention and said they would have a “negative impact” on the local economy.

He said: “The Labour group managed to get the controlling administration to defer these proposed parking fees that were set to be agreed at December’s cabinet meeting.

“I rang the leader of the council the night before the meeting and left her in no doubt that the fees and charges needed far more thought and consultation with the public. 

“Then, the next morning our chair of resources Christopher Massey did a sterling job at getting the cabinet to defer the decision. 

“Without the intervention of the Labour group these parking charges would have been in place on January 1.”

Cllr Brown said he agreed with Cllr Lanigan that the Conservative Government was to blame for the council’s financial position, which has led to previous warnings of a near £16m funding shortfall.

Cllr Lanigan said the extra income from car parking would help pay for children’s services and adult care.

But Cllr Brown said: “Placing a ticket machine everywhere will only have a negative impact on the local economy in the long run.”

Coatham ward councillor Carl Quartermain, Cllr Brown’s predecessor as group leader, said residents did not have the disposable income to waste on “punitive charges”.

He described how parking for shoppers using Redcar High Street was currently free for two hours, but under the proposals they would be charged £1.70 for the first hour and £2.80 for two hours.

Cllr Quartermain, who has raised a petition in protest at the planned measures, said they would impact on visitors to the borough and lead to more closures of local businesses.

Writing in an online blog, he said: “Businesses and residents need and deserve better than this.

“I am determined to do whatever it takes to make the independent/Liberal Democrat administration see sense and reverse their plan.”

Guisborough resident John Blades told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council was “milking residents” – having already proposed to raise council tax – when they should be looking at smarter ways to save/raise money.

The pensioner also pointed out that councillors were entitled to free parking permits and suggested these should be given up to save cash.

Under the plans, new charges would be introduced at Westgate in Guisborough – which currently is free for two hours with a disc – and at the North Road car park in Loftus, which many residents use to access the nearby doctor’s surgery.

If approved, it will also cost 50p to park at drop off points on Skelton High Street and Windy Hill in Marske. 

Meanwhile, visitors to the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, in Skinningrove, will pay £2 for an hour’s parking, rising to £8 for all day and at Kirkleatham Museum, near Redcar, £1.20 for the first hour, rising to £4.50 all day.

Changes are also proposed at council-owned leisure centre car parks, along with the likes of tourist hotspots such as Newton under Roseberry and Marine Parade, in Saltburn.

Last month the decision over the charges – part of a raft of council fees and charges proposals, which could bring in more than £2m – was deferred by cabinet members until further meetings in February and the setting of the council’s budget.

The council has predicted an £8m overspend in the current financial year and is attempting to balance the books.

Budget proposals for the 2023/24 financial year, which are going out to public consultation, include a 1.99% increase to council tax and a 2% rise in the adult social care precept.

There will also be an “extensive” programme of planned savings, weighing in at £10.7m over the next five years, proposed to cater for the significant impact of soaring inflation and the increasing demand on council services.