Residents in new-build properties in Stockport town centre should be eligible for parking permits after an Ombudsman investigation found the council was unfairly declining them.

The Ombudsman investigated the council’s permit restrictions after a man complained he had bought a flat on a road identified on the council’s own website as qualifying.

When the man applied for his permit, it was refused. He has had to pay £50 a month to park near his flat since he moved in.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council had decided to change its town centre Controlled Parking Zone without making the necessary amendments to its Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: