Ten Blue Badges for each disabled parking bay in Hackney, data reveals

A disabled parking space. Image: Google

Hackney has significantly fewer disabled parking spaces than Blue Badge holders, new research has revealed.

A nationwide investigation has found the amount of disabled parking permits given out far outstrips the number of accessible spaces, with more than 3.2m badge holders across the UK competing for 63,000 designated bays.

Data retrieved by financial services comparison platform Confused.com has shown that, in Hackney, the demand for dedicated disabled parking is roughly ten times the supply, with nearly 8,800 permit holders but only 850 spaces.

Responding to the findings, Hackney Council’s cabinet members for health and transport said they are “committed to ensuring all disabled people in Hackney get the help and support they are entitled to”.

Cllrs Chris Kennedy and Sarah Young told the Citizen that designated bay parking was “just one of the ways” the Town Hall helps disabled people with travel.

“We keep a careful eye on the number of parking bays available overall in the borough,” they said.

The research comes weeks after the Town Hall scrapped its additional assessment criteria for awarding Blue Badges, after a watchdog ruled it had used a “flawed policy” when it denied nearly 150 people a permit.

In April, the local government and social care ombudsman found Hackney Council’s “supplementary” scoring system had contravened the government’s own guidelines.

The council has agreed to offer those people who applied after January 2024 and were subsequently rejected a chance to reapply for a permit.

When asked, the health and transport chiefs said the number of Blue Badge spaces was “not relevant to how mobility assessments are carried out”.

The council added that mobility was also not the sole factor in deciding who was suitable for the permits, since a number of Blue Badge holders had hidden disabilities.

Hackney has two main types of disabled parking bays: general bays in place at locations like GP surgeries, places of worship, and community centres, and dedicated, personalised disabled bays outside residential homes.

The borough’s Blue Badge holders can use shared-use and pay-and-display bays across Hackney, as well as park on double yellow lines for up to three hours.

As part of the planning process, the council is also required to install disabled bays as part of new-build projects.

The UK-wide research also found that between 2022 and 2024, Blue Badge applications soared by 31 per cent, with 245,000 rejections over the same period.

The last three years have seen more than 700,000 penalty charge notices issued for the misuse of these bays.

Roughly two-thirds (65 per cent) of badge holders who took part in the company’s survey said they had been forced to park in standard bays due to a lack of accessible space.

More information about disabled parking in Hackney can be found at hackney.gov.uk/blue-badge.