Labour councillors will be presenting a motion challenging recently-introduced parking charges for blue badge holders at Medway Maritime Hospital.

Normal charges were introduced for disabled drivers at the hospital from Monday, July 2.

But Medway Labour will also challenge the £10 administration charge for all blue badge applications introduced by the Conservatives in this year’s budget, which Labour members opposed at the time.

The motion calls on Medway Maritime Hospital to scrap all parking charges for blue badge holders and scraps the £10 blue badge administration fee.

Cllr Teresa Murray, deputy leader of Medway Labour and spokesman for health, said: “The introduction of these charges - both in terms of hospital parking and for the council’s application process - represent a big imposition on Medway’s disabled residents, but only offer a relatively small budget revenue for the hospital and Council respectively. These charges cannot be justified.

“The Medway Conservatives must square their public opposition to the hospital parking charges with their own introduction of charges for blue badge applications, by pledging to ensure the withdrawal of both when we present this motion on Thursday.”

Local disability rights campaigner, Sue Groves MBE, said: “If Medway Council is genuinely committed to reducing the barriers people with impairments face then this motion should be adopted as a clear demonstration of that commitment.”

The motion will be put forward at the full council meeting at St George’s Centre, Chtaham on Thursday, July 26.