Plans to begin charging blue badge holders for parking in Ceredigion car parks - proposed in a bid to bring in £170,000 to the council’s coffers - have been scrapped and instead everyone else will be charged 50p more.

Ceredigion County Council Cabinet members backed launching a consultation on a range of changes to car parks during a marathon meeting on Tuesday, 3 September.

The plans, which will introduce Ceredigion-wide season tickets, build a new facility in Aberystwyth, and standardise fees across the county will aim to bring in a total income of £1.7m a year as the county council attempts to balance its books.

Initial consultation documents said the changes will mean all blue badge holders having to pay to park in council-owned car parks, with an extra hour’s grace.

A July scrutiny committee meeting, reported in the Cambrian News, called for that plan to be scrapped, but council officers said in the report put before the Cabinet that “it is advised that the charges proposed to blue badge holders should be retained within the proposal to be consulted upon as it is estimated that a potential shortfall of £170,000 may be experienced against the income target that council has set.”

Cllr Carl Worrall told members that blue badges for disabled people are often a “god-send” and charging could stop those people coming into town.

“Keep blue badges free, it’s not much to ask,” he said.

After discussions, Cabinet members decided to omit the blue badge charging plan from the consultation and instead insert a roughly 50p increase in parking charges for other users to meet the income shortfall.

Cllr Worrall called the decision a “victory.”

The “simplification” of car parking charges, will see all vehicles in all council car parks paying the same rate – now ranging from £3 to £7 with the additional 50p.

In many areas, the changes will see a reduction in parking charges.

The plans also include extending Maesyrafon car park into the disused former Arriva bus depot to add an extra 150 parking spaces.

The Gloster Row car park in Cardigan will change from a Pay and Display Car Park to a Season Ticket holder only car park, while the town’s Pendre car park will change from a permit holder car park to a short term pay and display car park.

The new Ceredigion Long Stay Car Park Season Ticket will allow holders to park in any of the council’s owned car park throughout the county – apart from North Road in Aberystwyth.

The meeting heard that: “Due to the significant financial challenges that the council is facing, a failure to achieve the income expectation will result in a requirement for further budget savings to be found beyond those already identified in the 2024/25 budget.

“It is on this basis that the package would need to be accepted in its entirety, and it would not be possible for some of the measures to progress without the other proposals also being progressed.”