Bromley under fire for not exempting Blue Badge holders from parking charges

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to introduce parking charges for Blue Badge holders have been defended by Bromley council, despite more than 1,400 residents calling for the scheme to be scrapped through a petition.

The authority approved the change last month to require those with a badge to pay when using council-owned car parks.

Sian Pugh, 59, started the petition against the scheme when she learned about it last week. The mum, who has multiple sclerosis, said the changes would severely impact her 27-year-old daughter’s visits to Orpington town centre.

Ms Pugh said: “It just feels like another arrow on the heads of disabled people: ‘We know they’re vulnerable. We know they probably won’t fight back so let’s just sock it to them’. It’s cruel. It’s really mean-spirited and targeting the most vulnerable in society.”

The mum said the Blue Badge scheme is essential for her family as it allows them to park in council-owned spaces for free to minimise the pain associated with walking between destinations.

Ms Pugh said: “Anywhere we go, we have to drive. We don’t have a choice, able-bodied people have a choice. To me, this is completely discriminatory. It’s discriminating against disabled people who don’t have a choice.”

The mum’s daughter, Carys, who experiences chronic joint pain from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, said: “It adds to the idea that disabled people contribute very little to society and they just want them to contribute something.”

The authority approved the charging at a meeting on November 20, despite the proposal from the Conservative-run council being criticised by several opposition councillors for the lack of a formal consultation.

Council officers said in their report that there was no data available to accurately estimate how much revenue would be generated from the additional charging.

Conservative councillor Keith Onslow broke his party’s ranks at the meeting by labelling the proposal as a ‘back of a fag packet calculation’, saying he felt there was limited evidence the council would generate revenue from the charging. Council documents said that badge holders would be entitled to a grace period when returning to their cars after a paid session had expired.

Conservative councillor Nicholas Bennett, portfolio holder for transport, said that an equality impact assessment would be carried out following the decision last month. The councillor also admitted that he was unaware of any other London boroughs that charge Blue Badge holders to use council-owned car parks.

Cllr Bennett said at the meeting: “I would point out, we’re talking about people who own and run a car and the average cost of running a car every month is £300. We’re talking about a parking fee which could be between £1.10 and £1.60.”

He added: “People who have Blue Badges have to pay for their petrol, they have to pay for their oil, they have to pay for their servicing, they have to pay for their tyres. For all these things, there is no discount if you have got a Blue Badge.”

Bromley council has been approached for comment.

Pictured top: Churchill Court, the site of Bromley council’s new headquarters (Picture: LDRS/Joe Coughlan)