COLCHESTER Council is offering exclusive parking spaces to car -sharing commuters – by cutting the number of Blue Badge spaces.

As part of a new scheme, 18 spaces across five Colchester Council town centre car parks have been dedicated to the Loveurcar campaign.

Fears had been raised at a full meeting of Colchester Council on Wednesday that all 18 spaces would be redesignated from Blue Badge bays.

But council bosses last night confirmed just three of the spaces, in Vineyard Street car park, have been lost.

It is understood the remaining 15 Loveurcar bays, in St Mary’s, St John’s Priory Street and Britannia car parks, are newly-created.

Blue Badge holders, who can park in disabled bays for three hours, said the bays were already in very high demand.

But Tina Bourne, councillor responsible for parking, said the trial Loveurcar scheme had to encourage people to register by offering “priority” spaces to them.

She added Vineyard Street car park was already over its quota for disabled bays.

She said: “One of the ways we are trying to limit traffic is through car sharing.

“In order to make that attractive, we need to find spaces for people in those cars.”

Jade Hamnett, chairman of campaign group Fair Access 2 Colchester, said: “It’s not very fair.

“It’s coming in just before Christmas as well, and that’s a time when people end to come into town more to get their shopping.”