I was refused disabled parking bay outside my house because my neighbour has one

A FURIOUS man has slammed the council after he was refused a disabled parking bay outside his house.

The riled resident, from Blackburn, Lancashire, claims his request was denied because his neighbour already has one.

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The man, who did not wish to be named, said he was told by Darwen Council to utilise the disabled bay that had been approved for another local within a 40-metre distance.

But he complained the “unfair” decision would mean him and his neighbour would have to battle for the space each day.

The resident said he feared sharing the disabled bay would lead to “feuds and arguments” and claimed he had previously had his car scratched when using someone elses parking spot.

But the council insist the 40-metre rule is necessary to help them “manage available kerb space”.

Despite their rebuttal, the disabled man insists there is “simply not enough parking” available on his street, which is made up of around 30 homes.

He told the Lancashire Telegraph: “It just does not make sense whatsoever.

“I got told someone else nearby had also applied so I was not able get a parking bay.

“The rule was brought in some years ago and now you can’t get a new parking bay.

“What are people who genuinely are entitled to a parking bay to do?

“People have more than one car and I only own one car. I no longer go out after 4pm as I can’t get a spot outside my house when I get back and sometimes have to park on adjoining streets.

“Apparently, I can park in another disabled parking bay. So where does that person park?

“The last time I did this someone scratched my car,” he fumed.

“This rule is clearly going to cause feuds and arguments. Can you imagine what would happen?

“This decision has caused me a great deal of stress and frustrations but I know there will be others who have gone through the same ordeal.

“It is unfair on blue badge holders and heart breaking.”

This rule is clearly going to cause feuds and arguments. Can you imagine what would happen?

Furious resident

Blackburn with Darwen Council allow residents to apply for a disabled parking bay outside their home, but say there is no statutory requirement for Local Authorities to provide disabled parking bays.

The space is only valid for the duration of the applications blue badges and costs £120, while renewing the bay costs £60.

Martin Eden, Director of Place, said: “The Council has a disabled parking bay policy in place to ensure fairness when processing applications and to assist the team in making decisions.

“The policy has several criteria that assists officers when deciding.

“A residential disabled parking bay application will be rejected if it does not meet all or a single criterion stated at the time of application.

“The 40m distance to another residential disabled bay is in line with the criteria surrounding a blue badge application and is to assist the Council in managing available kerb space as it’s at a premium.

“Residential parking bays may be used by any blue badge holder and applicants are informed if this as part of the application process.

“At this time, there is no statutory requirement for Local Authorities to provide residential disabled parking bays on the highway, yet we choose to provide them to assist our residents in parking close to their home.

“However, we have to manage parking expectations for all residents across the borough, hence the rationale for introducing the 40m criteria.”