'No one should have to pay to park at work' - 11 things you said as parking charges approved for Hartlepool councillors

Twenty-three councillors are currently registered to use the underground car park at the centre, and proposals which will see each of them pay £116 a year have now been given the go-ahead.

There are 12 bays allocated for members to use at the civic centre, and the annual fees will cover the estimated £2,664 car parking income for the bays.

Getting in touch on our Facebook page, some Mail readers have argued that no one should have to pay to park at work, while others have called for councillors to pay more in line with parking charging elsewhere in town.

In a previous Mail poll, 91% of those who voted backed the idea of the parking charge.

The same meeting also saw proposals to remove ward member budgets for 2020/21 approved in a bid to cut civic expenditure.

Here is what you had to say about the decision on the Hartlepool Mail Facebook page:

Alan Turner: "Hospital staff pay the full price, not allowed to buy cheap monthly ticket."

Gary Coussons: "No one should have to pay to park at work."

Vikki Young: "£360 a year I pay to park at work!"

David Riseley: "How does that compare with what hospital staff pay. Anyone know?"

Sarah Daniel: "How much? Let them park in the town like shop workers have to."

Sarah Louise Bright: "A nurse or doctor should be free to park. This is [an] insult make them pay what hospital staff are charged."

Scott Collin: "Taking off bank holidays, weekends and annual leave, works out about £2 a day. Shouldn't the car parks on the town be set at £2 a day too?"

Piper Voss: "Everyone moaned when they where not getting charged, then they start charging them now it's not enough."

Linda Butterfield: "So they should, but should be more."

Beryl Hann: "They should charge them, what makes them any different to anyone else?"

Darren Sutheran: "Should give the same price to car parks in town centre."