Parking charges will be considered for disabled

A report to Warwick District Council’s executive committee last week says officials are making an ongoing assessment into the feasibility of charging blue badge holders in the authority’s car parks.

But Ruth Walwyn, who has a blue badge because her son Laurence suffers from Downs Sydrome, claims Disability Living Allowance and mobility allowance, is opposed to charges.

She said: “Life is difficult enough as it is.

“What are blue badges for if we end up paying the same as other people? Does that mean we just park on double yellow lines and make a nuisance of ourselves?”

Mrs Walwyn, whose mother suffers mobility problems, said disabled people must park nearer the services they need, while able bodied people may be able to leave their car elsewhere and walk.

She says parents of disabled children may have to wash clothes more, pay for special toys and equipment and make extra journeys for school and extra curricular activities, often with one-to-one tuition.

Mrs Walwyn added: “It seems like a perk but there is an awful lot of hard work that goes into having a disabled child. Everything we do costs more and everything our children have to participate in costs more.”

The council’s neighbourhood services manager Ian Coker explained that faced with an estimated shortfall of £206,000 in car park revenue and a fall of around five per cent in users, his department had been asked to look for another £50,000 in income.

He added that other local authorites had already introduced charging for blue badge holders, but that Warwickshire County Council had not indicated its wish to introduce on-street charging, and that a final report would be given to councillors in October.

He stressed the purpose of blue badges, which are issued by the county council, is not to give free parking but to enable disabled people to park as close as possible to their destinations.

He said: “Clearly it’s something that needs to be looked at full and everything needs to be taken into account before we go down that route.”

The district council is also considering ending an exemption for Guide Dogs for the Blind vehicles in its car parks.

At the meeting last week, Cllr Bill Gifford (Lib Dem, Leamington Milverton) of the overview and scrutiny committee said this would gain the council so little money it would not be worth doing.