Darlington Borough Council has assured visitors that cash payments will still be used to pay for car parking tickets. 

The announcement comes as several local authorities throughout the UK have revealed plans to phase out cash payments in favour of a cashless, online-based system. 

But council bosses in Darlington have ruled out car parks throughout the borough following suit. A spokesman responded: “We have no plans to remove cash payments at council-owned car parks.”

In the North East, Newcastle City Council said its ticket machines will be upgraded to provide the option to pay by card at all car parks alongside an online PayByPhone service.

Councillors in York are also due to discuss whether to move to a cashless system after reporting a steady decline over the last decade, with just 14 per cent of all payments made by cash. 

Car parking throughout Darlington remains a key issue among shoppers and businesses after the Labour-led administration recently scrapped the two-hour free parking scheme. Costing the scheme, Labour said, was not possible due to the council’s budget pressures, which it continues to review after inheriting the books from the previous Conservative-led administration in May.

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.

But despite the claims of inheriting a council in financial difficulty, the Conservatives say the decision will have an adverse impact on town centre trade.

Darlington’s MP Peter Gibson said: “This is a decision entirely within the hands of Darlington Council’s new Labour group. I fear for our fragile town centre businesses building back post pandemic.”

The Conservative has launched a petition, calling on Labour to reverse its decision, however the number of signatories is not available for public viewing.