The sign was also on the meters yes. Also I'm not saying that they should give free parking in car parks just that if they do for some holders they should for all.
The sign was also on the meters yes. Also I'm not saying that they should give free parking in car parks just that if they do for some holders they should for all.
Well I'm scratching my head at the fact you say the sign was on the on-street parking meters. I re-iterate, as far as I am aware councils are not allowed to do that.
The sign was also on the meters yes. Also I'm not saying that they should give free parking in car parks just that if they do for some holders they should for all.
Well I'm scratching my head at the fact you say the sign was on the on-street parking meters. I re-iterate, as far as I am aware councils are not allowed to do that.
I have written to Southend on sea council. I wonder what their reply will be?
The sign was also on the meters yes. Also I'm not saying that they should give free parking in car parks just that if they do for some holders they should for all.
Well I'm scratching my head at the fact you say the sign was on the on-street parking meters. I re-iterate, as far as I am aware councils are not allowed to do that.
I have written to Southend on sea council. I wonder what their reply will be?
Good for you. Do let me know what response you get.
There are a number of local authorities who issue their own badges in addition to the national Blue Badge. But these can only be used to give concessions in off-street car parks or additional concessions to those conferred by the national scheme. They can't use their own badge say to give free on-street parking at meters.
I think I am with Sadie here, although I would like some clarification of the case before signing, which she is clearly working on.
Does this (keeping it locals only) apply to hospital car parks or not? Because when you have an NHS Trust covering two big hospitals in different boroughs, the issue then is obvious. And of course the hospital car parks are full.
I seem to recall my brother telling me that he decided against taking my Mum for a trip to the West Country because of exactly this problem. If true, I'm definitely signing.
Sadly, the business with my Mum's final months, care stuff especially, has made me conclude that the UK is no country for old people.
The blue badge scheme is fraught with difficulties. Not just at a council but at a national and international level. Regular readers might recall that my sister is a serving police officer (although not for much longer). She is also a blue badge holder and a recipient of the DLA. She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Some days she can hardly walk, other days you wouldn't know she has a problem. I suspect that it is often people in categories like this that look as if they are using a badge fraudulently but in reality are not.
Anyway, in terms of issues, why cannot the scheme be international? For example, in Florida if you have a UK blue badge you are no longer allowed to use disabled parking spaces.
Unbelievably, this is what you have to do: instead of just using your blue UK Disabled Blue Parking Badge, you need to take it; your passport; a certified doctor's letter describing condition; and a utility bill to a local vehicle licensing office and pay a $15 fee for a temporary US parking badge. Nice way to have to spend your holiday. Oh, and I wouldn't park in a disabled bay while you're wiling away the hours queuing. Sometimes the Yanks really are a bunch of arseholes but they are not alone.
Here's what happens in Australia: Overseas permits may be used in Queensland, Australian Capital Territory (Canberra), Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Fantastic! Oh, but not in NSW or Victoria - go figure!
In New South Wales, application may be made for a temporary permit at any Roads and Traffic Authority office.
In Victoria, a temporary permit for a holder of an overseas parking permit may be arranged before arrival through VicRoads. Apply at least one month before arrival (so disabled people are not expected to be business travellers who might have to make last minute ad hoc visits, you'll notice) by facsimile (really? Fax!? not as an attachment to an email?) or by post, enclosing a copy of your overseas permit together with the dates you will be in Australia and address when first arriving in Victoria.
A temporary permit issued in New South Wales or Victoria will be recognised throughout Australia. Visitors are advised to contact the relevant authorities for information well in advance of travel.
Now back to my sister, if she's flying over from Northern Ireland, she's got her badge with her but I can't park in a disabled space while I'm waiting to pick her up at Stansted. Instead, she has to clamber onto a bus with everyone else and trundle down to the mid-term car park. Bonkers. There should be some way of pre-authorising use of disabled spaces when collecting bone fide blue badge holders from flights. (I've complained to Stansted - you can guess where that got me.)
It's (sort of) explained here. https://belfastairport.com/special-assistance/blue-badge-holders In short, she'd book long stay but get a temporary airport blue badge which would allow her to park in short stay (which is closer to the terminal) and trade that in when she returns. This allows her to travel with her actual blue badge.
Went to Southend yesterday wiv the kids. I am disabled and cannot walk any distance without being short of breath etc,therefore I use a motability scooter. We have always parked for free in the big car park behind all the pubs/nightclubs after I had seen Sadies post my partner asked if we cud park for free. We were informed only Southend residents can park for free as it is a private car park & that was by a Traffic warden. He advised us to park on the Eastern Esplanade just past the pier as a there were parking metres on the rd and it was free with a blue badge. We did this however it took a while to find a space and there are no disabled bays down there. I nearly got hit by a car as I got my mobility scooter out as it is a bit of a race track. Hope this helps
Went to Southend yesterday wiv the kids. I am disabled and cannot walk any distance without being short of breath etc,therefore I use a motability scooter. We have always parked for free in the big car park behind all the pubs/nightclubs after I had seen Sadies post my partner asked if we cud park for free. We were informed only Southend residents can park for free as it is a private car park & that was by a Traffic warden. He advised us to park on the Eastern Esplanade just past the pier as a there were parking metres on the rd and it was free with a blue badge. We did this however it took a while to find a space and there are no disabled bays down there. I nearly got hit by a car as I got my mobility scooter out as it is a bit of a race track. Hope this helps
Parking is a nightmare if you have mobility issues and it really does add to stress. Requires a lot of planning sometimes.
I still find it strange that four London boroughs run a separate scheme which makes parking in those areas very difficult.
Trying to get to hospitals etc in Central London and then finding parking can be a nightmare. When my children were younger they had numerous appointments and the parking was frequently stressful.
Most tube stations in Central London are not accessible by wheelchair - if you look at a tube map you can see the extent of the problem. On the Jubilee Line you have to get off at either Westminster or Green Park and also hope all the lifts are working.
I got a reply from Southend on Sea apologising for the "temporary signs" at the parking meters, they told me it was a trial to see if it eased the parking problems. They said that they are keeping all car parks in the area free for disabled residents but street parking is free to all badge holders all day if a space can be found. They went on to say that disabled guests are still welcome to use the car parks provided for the applied fee.
They didn't comment on why there are no disabled bays in the car park, or why they think they are above the law. A friend of mine tells me that the "temporary" card board signs are all gone, so I think they may have realised they were in the wrong.
I got a reply from Southend on Sea apologising for the "temporary signs" at the parking meters, they told me it was a trial to see if it eased the parking problems. They said that they are keeping all car parks in the area free for disabled residents but street parking is free to all badge holders all day if a space can be found. They went on to say that disabled guests are still welcome to use the car parks provided for the applied fee.
They didn't comment on why there are no disabled bays in the car park, or why they think they are above the law. A friend of mine tells me that the "temporary" card board signs are all gone, so I think they may have realised they were in the wrong.
"Trial" meaning they were put up until someone pointed out they were breaking the law.
I got a reply from Southend on Sea apologising for the "temporary signs" at the parking meters, they told me it was a trial to see if it eased the parking problems. They said that they are keeping all car parks in the area free for disabled residents but street parking is free to all badge holders all day if a space can be found. They went on to say that disabled guests are still welcome to use the car parks provided for the applied fee.
They didn't comment on why there are no disabled bays in the car park, or why they think they are above the law. A friend of mine tells me that the "temporary" card board signs are all gone, so I think they may have realised they were in the wrong.
Good news on the parking meters front - as I said to you earlier, they can't only give free parking at on-street parking meters to their local residents.
Guess my many years in DfT wasn't a total waste of time!
I totally agree there should be a lot more blue badge spaces conveniently placed to help those with mobility problems to make their life easier but i dont understand why parkinhg should be free?? Several days a week i take out the mother in law who is a wheelchair chair user but i feel we shouldnt be parking for free ?? Why should we? Maybee if they all charged for disabled parking they could offer more convenient parking places as they wouldnt feel they were losing revenue
I have a blue badge now. After so many years walking everywhere it's a real bonus as now I would not go to some places if I could not park easily. Maybe the first 15 minutes should be free but after that I would not mind paying same as everyone else.
I totally agree there should be a lot more blue badge spaces conveniently placed to help those with mobility problems to make their life easier but i dont understand why parkinhg should be free?? Several days a week i take out the mother in law who is a wheelchair chair user but i feel we shouldnt be parking for free ?? Why should we? Maybee if they all charged for disabled parking they could offer more convenient parking places as they wouldnt feel they were losing revenue
I never said it should be free, I said it shouldn't be free for some blue badge holders and not for others. The confusion with different councils and different parking companies having conflicting rules leads to a lot of people getting ticketed or clamped etc when going out of area. My argument is it should be national, one set of rules for all blue badge holders nationally, no confusion and no discrimination.
Also, regarding the disabled parking being free, this is generally because the disabled person(s) do not have the choice to walk, ride a bike or hop on a bus, the using a car and the parking is necessary if they want to or need to visit their destination, not a lifestyle choice. This is why others that have the choice to use other forms of transport are charged a fee and blue badge holders are generally exempt.
My wife is a Blue Badge holder. Today we went to,Southend and parked on the seafront below the Cliffs Pavilion.
I walked along and couldn't see any temporary signs on any of the lampposts along the seafront. We used our Blue Badge and parked for two hours and our car was fine. The pay machines now say that Blue Badge holders park for free.
So it would appear that the parking restrictions for Blue Badge holders has now been shelved.
I totally agree there should be a lot more blue badge spaces conveniently placed to help those with mobility problems to make their life easier but i dont understand why parkinhg should be free?? Several days a week i take out the mother in law who is a wheelchair chair user but i feel we shouldnt be parking for free ?? Why should we? Maybee if they all charged for disabled parking they could offer more convenient parking places as they wouldnt feel they were losing revenue
I never said it should be free, I said it shouldn't be free for some blue badge holders and not for others. The confusion with different councils and different parking companies having conflicting rules leads to a lot of people getting ticketed or clamped etc when going out of area. My argument is it should be national, one set of rules for all blue badge holders nationally, no confusion and no discrimination.
Also, regarding the disabled parking being free, this is generally because the disabled person(s) do not have the choice to walk, ride a bike or hop on a bus, the using a car and the parking is necessary if they want to or need to visit their destination, not a lifestyle choice. This is why others that have the choice to use other forms of transport are charged a fee and blue badge holders are generally exempt.
I agree with all of this. Blue badge holders hardly make up a substantial portion of the motoring pool, and where there are issues (e.g. the West End and Seafronts that are extremely popular and finite space cannot cope with demand) then appropriate measures ought to be put in place to ensure access is given according to need as opposed to a post code lottery. You wouldn't tolerate being treated any less different in a hospital if you weren't from the area.
It's interesting that you bring up public transport and cost. I believe that blue badge holders should be exempt from all parking fares, and public transport is usually not an option due to our horribly outdated infrastructure. The thing is if less people drove and more people used public transport then there'd be even more access available for blue badge holders, yet I cannot think of a single form of public transport that is cheaper than using my own vehicle that I would use even on an infrequent basis. The last bus I took cost 4 quid for a 20 minute journey. How on earth does that make sense?
My wife is a Blue Badge holder. Today we went to,Southend and parked on the seafront below the Cliffs Pavilion.
I walked along and couldn't see any temporary signs on any of the lampposts along the seafront. We used our Blue Badge and parked for two hours and our car was fine. The pay machines now say that Blue Badge holders park for free.
So it would appear that the parking restrictions for Blue Badge holders has now been shelved.
As above, my understanding was in law blue badge only entitles on street parking, private land there is no 'rights' as such although it is recommended that spaces are provided but up to the land owner how they do or do not charge.
Southend seem to confirm that is still applicable in their borough and free of charge regardless of where you live;
Whatever you do, don't go to Brighton. Went last week, parked a 10 minute walk away from the seafront and they emptied my wallet of £30 for the privilege!
Brighton's parking scheme is criminal. I actively avoid going there if possible because there is literally nowhere to park for less than the price of a good meal in London, and I know what I'd enjoy more. I'm not sure why people seem to love going there so much, it's one of the tackiest places in the South.
As above, my understanding was in law blue badge only entitles on street parking, private land there is no 'rights' as such although it is recommended that spaces are provided but up to the land owner how they do or do not charge.
Southend seem to confirm that is still applicable in their borough and free of charge regardless of where you live;
Whatever you do, don't go to Brighton. Went last week, parked a 10 minute walk away from the seafront and they emptied my wallet of £30 for the privilege!
Brighton's parking scheme is criminal. I actively avoid going there if possible because there is literally nowhere to park for less than the price of a good meal in London, and I know what I'd enjoy more. I'm not sure why people seem to love going there so much, it's one of the tackiest places in the South.
First time i'd been for a while just for a day trip, if i've stayed overnight wherever you stay is normally free parking. I quite like it down there, a lot less tacky than much of the SE coastal towns.
Not sure where you live, but within London I think any bus Journey (oyster) is a very reasonable £1.50.
There should be allocated parking spaces for disabled badge holders in the optimum position and with additional space around to help with loading and so on, but why should they be free?
Comments
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-blue-badge-scheme-rights-and-responsibilities-in-england/the-blue-badge-scheme-rights-and-responsibilities-in-england
http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200363/blue_badge/144/using_your_blue_badge
There are a number of local authorities who issue their own badges in addition to the national Blue Badge. But these can only be used to give concessions in off-street car parks or additional concessions to those conferred by the national scheme. They can't use their own badge say to give free on-street parking at meters.
I am writing another letter saying the cardboard signs around the lampposts near metres are illegal and if I had known I would have parked there.
Does this (keeping it locals only) apply to hospital car parks or not? Because when you have an NHS Trust covering two big hospitals in different boroughs, the issue then is obvious. And of course the hospital car parks are full.
I seem to recall my brother telling me that he decided against taking my Mum for a trip to the West Country because of exactly this problem. If true, I'm definitely signing.
Sadly, the business with my Mum's final months, care stuff especially, has made me conclude that the UK is no country for old people.
Anyway, in terms of issues, why cannot the scheme be international? For example, in Florida if you have a UK blue badge you are no longer allowed to use disabled parking spaces.
Unbelievably, this is what you have to do: instead of just using your blue UK Disabled Blue Parking Badge, you need to take it; your passport; a certified doctor's letter describing condition; and a utility bill to a local vehicle licensing office and pay a $15 fee for a temporary US parking badge. Nice way to have to spend your holiday. Oh, and I wouldn't park in a disabled bay while you're wiling away the hours queuing. Sometimes the Yanks really are a bunch of arseholes but they are not alone.
Here's what happens in Australia: Overseas permits may be used in Queensland, Australian Capital Territory (Canberra), Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Fantastic!
Oh, but not in NSW or Victoria - go figure!
In New South Wales, application may be made for a temporary permit at any Roads and Traffic Authority office.
In Victoria, a temporary permit for a holder of an overseas parking permit may be arranged before arrival through VicRoads. Apply at least one month before arrival (so disabled people are not expected to be business travellers who might have to make last minute ad hoc visits, you'll notice) by facsimile (really? Fax!? not as an attachment to an email?) or by post, enclosing a copy of your overseas permit together with the dates you will be in Australia and address when first arriving in Victoria.
A temporary permit issued in New South Wales or Victoria will be recognised throughout Australia.
Visitors are advised to contact the relevant authorities for information well in advance of travel.
Now back to my sister, if she's flying over from Northern Ireland, she's got her badge with her but I can't park in a disabled space while I'm waiting to pick her up at Stansted. Instead, she has to clamber onto a bus with everyone else and trundle down to the mid-term car park. Bonkers. There should be some way of pre-authorising use of disabled spaces when collecting bone fide blue badge holders from flights. (I've complained to Stansted - you can guess where that got me.)
In short, she'd book long stay but get a temporary airport blue badge which would allow her to park in short stay (which is closer to the terminal) and trade that in when she returns. This allows her to travel with her actual blue badge.
I am disabled and cannot walk any distance without being short of breath etc,therefore I use a motability scooter.
We have always parked for free in the big car park behind all the pubs/nightclubs after I had seen Sadies post my partner asked if we cud park for free.
We were informed only Southend residents can park for free as it is a private car park & that was by a Traffic warden.
He advised us to park on the Eastern Esplanade just past the pier as a there were parking metres on the rd and it was free with a blue badge.
We did this however it took a while to find a space and there are no disabled bays down there.
I nearly got hit by a car as I got my mobility scooter out as it is a bit of a race track.
Hope this helps
I still find it strange that four London boroughs run a separate scheme which makes parking in those areas very difficult.
Trying to get to hospitals etc in Central London and then finding parking can be a nightmare. When my children were younger they had numerous appointments and the parking was frequently stressful.
Most tube stations in Central London are not accessible by wheelchair - if you look at a tube map you can see the extent of the problem. On the Jubilee Line you have to get off at either Westminster or Green Park and also hope all the lifts are working.
They didn't comment on why there are no disabled bays in the car park, or why they think they are above the law. A friend of mine tells me that the "temporary" card board signs are all gone, so I think they may have realised they were in the wrong.
Guess my many years in DfT wasn't a total waste of time!
Several days a week i take out the mother in law who is a wheelchair chair user but i feel we shouldnt be parking for free ?? Why should we?
Maybee if they all charged for disabled parking they could offer more convenient parking places as they wouldnt feel they were losing revenue
Also, regarding the disabled parking being free, this is generally because the disabled person(s) do not have the choice to walk, ride a bike or hop on a bus, the using a car and the parking is necessary if they want to or need to visit their destination, not a lifestyle choice. This is why others that have the choice to use other forms of transport are charged a fee and blue badge holders are generally exempt.
Today we went to,Southend and parked on the seafront below the Cliffs Pavilion.
I walked along and couldn't see any temporary signs on any of the lampposts along the seafront. We used our Blue Badge and parked for two hours and our car was fine. The pay machines now say that Blue Badge holders park for free.
So it would appear that the parking restrictions for Blue Badge holders has now been shelved.
It's interesting that you bring up public transport and cost. I believe that blue badge holders should be exempt from all parking fares, and public transport is usually not an option due to our horribly outdated infrastructure. The thing is if less people drove and more people used public transport then there'd be even more access available for blue badge holders, yet I cannot think of a single form of public transport that is cheaper than using my own vehicle that I would use even on an infrequent basis. The last bus I took cost 4 quid for a 20 minute journey. How on earth does that make sense?
Not sure where you live, but within London I think any bus Journey (oyster) is a very reasonable £1.50.