Middlesbrough doesn't have car parking charges past 5:30pm it's free to park in all side roads and council owned car parks that are open, it's been that way for a number of years. Currently Capt Cook car park closes on the evening, about 6-7pm, I haven't seen any notices that that will change, but it may well be in the pipeline that no one has bothered to ask about yet.
I've just left a budget meting and things are getting very very tight, currently Year end 22/23 83% of the councils budget is spent on Children and Adult care! the budget is about £120million, I'm sure you can all do the maths.
So we're left with 17% to do everything else.
This is why car parking is going up, it's why street lights are getting turned off and it's why other much less palpable are going to happen in the next 2 months.
Basic fact is, we simply don't have any money.