EXTRA parking for disabled drivers is being created in 30 locations across Burnley and Rossendale amid a growing demand for spaces.

Some motorists are seeking exemptions for major routes such as Coal Clough Lane, Kiddrow Lane, Branch Road, Colne Road and Briercliffe Road.

But others are in more out-of-the-way locations such as Garden Street in Padiham, off St Matthew Street in Rosehill and Hind Street, Duke Bar.

Only one application has been received for the Rossendale valley, for a bay in Tonacliffe Road, Whitworth.

Richard Jones, the county council’s environment director, said in a report: “In this case the applicants have met all the requirements for the provision of a disabled parking bay and no objections have been received during the consultation process.”

He told councillors that the provision of the bays had been prompted by a ‘high demand for kerbside parking and the limited mobility of the applicants’.

Around £3,500 will be spent on establishing the dedicated bays, which will be met from the county council’s highway maintenance budget.

Another programme to improve highway safety along several key roads in Burnley has been rubberstamped by the authority.

No waiting restrictions have been approved for Briercliffe Road, near Netherwood Street, South Drive and Victoria Road in Padiham, and Brownside Road in Worsthorne.

Particular problems have also been noted with ‘obstructive parking’ in Pratt Street, Horton Avenue and part of Marsden Road, where similar measures will be introduced.