BADGE BADGERS
A DISABLED Eye reader’s court victory against a discriminatory council parking charge raises the question: how many council car parks comply with the Equality Act 2010?
Reader “X” – he prefers not to be named – and his wife both have blue badges and their car is exempt from vehicle excise duty because of severe disability. That exemption previously allowed them free parking at the Priory car park in Bodmin, Cornwall; but in August 2023 Mr X found a parking ticket (later withdrawn on appeal) on his windscreen 44 minutes after he’d entered the car park. Bodmin town council had introduced free parking for 30 minutes, followed by charges for everyone without a local parking permit, whether in possession of a blue badge or not.