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Plans to charge £150 for disabled parking bays in Plymouth

Tori_Scope

A charity boss has said plans to charge £150 for disabled parking bays in Plymouth are "adding insult to injury".

Tim Todd, from Plymouth Friends and Family charity, said families were already struggling with rising costs.

He called on the council to "think again" as plans for the changes are set to go before the Plymouth City Council's cabinet on Thursday.

A spokesperson said the council could no longer afford to provide the scheme free due to "budget pressures".

The council's cabinet is set to consider a report on parking fees, permits and payment options across the city.

Included in the recommendations is one to introduce the fee for marking a resident's disabled parking bay.

It currently costs £40 to apply for a bay, which does not guarantee the application will be approved and once installed there are no guarantees the bay will always be available.

The council said the £40 covered the cost of checking eligibility and a site visit and would be charged in addition to the £150 for installing the bay.

If approved by cabinet, the fee would be charged on all new bays from 1 December. It would also be charged each time a bay needed to be re-marked.

BBC News

Over to you...

Do you think it's reasonable for the council to charge an extra £150 for installing disabled parking bays?

Would this affect you?

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Comments

Cartini

I live in Plymouth and I have mixed feelings over this.

I have my own drive, so I wouldn`t be able to apply for a disabled spot to be marked out on the road.

I live next to a school (built after I bought my house) and my drive is constantly being blocked by inconsiderate mothers on the school run. My complaints to the police are met with "it`s a council problem" and my complaints to the council are met with "we can put a "do not enter" box outside your drive, but it will cost £250". Needless to say, and because it cannot be legally enforced, I won`t be paying £250.

You could argue that that disabled box is being provided at a discount compared to those who need a box to keep their drive clear.

At the end of the day, disability benefits are there to help people with their everyday life, so you could also argue they could be used to pay for a disability box to be painted outside their property.

The only downside to paying for one is that anyone with a blue badge could use it, not just the person who paid to have it installed (I read that for one council (which one I can`t remember), whether it`s the same for all I couldn`t say).

Unfortunately the way the cost of living crisis is going, everyone is going to be impacted one way or another and possibly more than once.

GizmoTiddles

I think the council will do what they want.
Where I live I'm lucky to have (at the moment) space to park at home.but on the main road it is a big problem, again in Plymouth.
A bay wouldn't work for the person that pays for it. But would be abused by the inconsiderate fraternity. Vans seem to be the transport of choice by out foreign "friends"

L_Volunteer

What an.... intriguingly frustrating thread! Thanks @Tori_Scope for initiating the conversation.

Thanks to everyone else for contributing their responses too. If anyone else wishes to share their response please feel free.

I hear you all

Mark_War

I have just paid out £188 for the repainting of my disabled bay which took PCC Highways 2 minutes and 40 seconds to complete, I want Plymouth City Council to justify charging £188 for 2 minutes and 40 seconds work with 2 highway staff one of which was doing the job.

On the 15th September there was a council meeting which as a member of the public you can ask questions to the council, in under 50 words, so my question was:

How can PCC justify charging £188 for a disabled parking bay in this cost-of-living crisis? The job takes less than 3 minutes and although it is outside my home, anyone with a blue badge can park there. Scope slammed PCC for charging £150 in 2020, but it has increased since.

The Response:

(For completion by City Council officers and Cabinet Members / Chairs) The provision of disabled driver parking spaces is not a statutory function of Plymouth City Council; rather, it is a courtesy service aimed at assisting disabled drivers who encounter difficulties in parking near their homes. The introduction of the fee for marking a disabled drivers parking space was necessary to ensure the sustainability of this service. The cost of marking a bay, which is set at £188 as of April 2025, reflects only a portion of the actual costs incurred by the Council, which totals £582.41 per marking. The fees are subsidised to help maintain this valuable service, and without them, we risk having to discontinue the service altogether. During the application process the applicant is advised that these white bay markings are advisory only and are not reserved exclusively for any individual. However, most motorists appreciate the purpose of the bays and leave them clear for the people who need them. If we were to make these bays mandatory, legally backed by a Traffic Regulation Order, the cost to the applicant would be significantly more and implementation time can take several months whilst it follows a statutory process. Therefore, maintaining the current system balances support for disabled motorists with practical considerations of cost and efficiency, ensuring that this important service remains accessible to those who rely on it.

This is my view:

My problem with this is, I pay £188 to repaint the disabled bay outside my home, but anyone with a Blue badge can park there, I am lucky in one respect that, I live in a cul de sac and people in this cul de sac, know I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, and for this I thank my neighbours.

Mark

niloferm40

do disabled offer other ornaments besides the chair

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1068143#Comment_1068143

I would open a "What Do They Know" FOI question to find out how they justify this amount…….

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/

OverlyAnxious

I think most people would be surprised by how much it costs to do seemingly simple tasks such as painting lines. Obviously you're not paying for '2 minutes'. You're paying for at least an hours use of the truck for the journey, fuel, public liability insurance, two peoples wages, materials, etc. Then all of the 'admin' that had to be done behind the scenes before the truck even left the depot. Personally I feel a huge amount of money is wasted nowadays with the way jobs are done, seemingly needing to go through multiple unnecessary processes, but it isn't going to change any time soon. I don't see a problem with the resident having to pay towards the cost of a disabled bay. Considering how long the bay lasts and the amount of convenience it adds to daily life, a one-off payment of £150 doesn't seem excessive at all.

Mark_War

I totally agree with you on the majority of your comment, but how would you feel if you paid {now £188 Plymouth City Council) and came home to park up only to find someone else with a disabled badge parking in the disabled bay, you have just paid £188 for.

Just because you paid the money to have the disabled bay repainted, anyone with a disabled badge can park there, as PCC have said it is not enforceable, it is more of to be courteous, but any person can park in a disabled bay outside someone’s home with or without a disabled bay.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1073965#Comment_1073965

I would feel that they have parked within the law. You don't own a disabled space any more than you own the road.

I would also feel irritated if someone parked in my regular space, irrespective of a blue badge or fresh lines. But I do not own that space, so legally they are not doing anything wrong.