Cheshire East Council has denied claims its new parking policy and charges discriminates against disabled people who have to park on the street.

The denial comes after a disabled man from Alsager contacted councillors and the Local Democracy Reporting Service saying that once parking charges are introduced in the town, motorists who are driven off the car parks will clog up nearby streets.

This could have a severe impact on disabled people who have to rely on on-street parking.

The man said: "I am a Lawton Road resident with severe mobility issues and walking more than 20 yards, with a walking stick, can be extremely problematic.

"I do not have off-road parking and outside of my home are double yellow lines, so I use nearby streets for parking.

"The [parking] strategy report identifies that due to the car park charges, several Alsager town centre streets will experience displacement of vehicles, meaning that local disabled residents may not be able to park in nearby streets."

He said he had objected formally to the strategy and parking charges on the grounds the report discriminates against disabled persons and breaches the Equality Act 2010.

Cheshire East Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service its decision is neither unlawful nor discriminatory.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The council's plan for car parking charges was accompanied by assessments of the risk that vehicles are displaced from car parks into sensitive nearby streets.

"We have committed to monitor these areas for any changes that arise due to the introduction of new parking charges.

"Should unacceptable levels of displacement arise, the council has a range of options to manage these pressures, including provision of extra disabled parking spaces – on or off-street – if there is clear evidence of problems.

"At this stage, no parking charges have taken effect in Alsager, so it is too early to say whether any mitigation measures are needed.

"The recent committee decision was supported by an equalities assessment, which considered the likely impacts on people with protected characteristics, including disabilities.

"We do not agree that the decision taken was unlawful or discriminatory.

We are, furthermore, fully committed to managing any impacts to avoid any significant adverse consequences that may arise in the future."

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