Blue badge users split over parking cap plans

4 hours ago

Simon Sparkin Grantham

Pauline Tales, 63, and Sue Wilkinson, 59, fear more disabled drivers will have to park on roads

BBC Two women wearing flowery tops propped against the back of a car with the boot open in an on-street bay in a street in a town centre with red-brick buildings to either side. The woman on the left has wavy dark hair and wears sunglasses, a white top with purple pattern and a dark shoulder strap. The woman on the right has dark, chin-length hair and wears a black top with pink and blue pattern. — Pauline Tales, 63, and Sue Wilkinson, 59, fear more disabled drivers will have to park on roads

Plans to scrap all-day free parking for blue badge holders in a Lincolnshire district have received a mixed response from those who use the scheme.

South Kesteven District Council's cabinet agreed to launch a consultation on a proposal for a three-hour cap on free parking after hearing disabled bays in Stamford and Grantham were often full.

Council leader Ashley Baxter said the changes would still mean council car parks were among the most reasonable for blue badge holders.

But Grantham driver Sue Wilkinson, 59, who uses crutches, said: "Disabled people shop too and it takes twice as long."

Wilkinson and her friend Pauline Tales, 63, were parked in an on-street bay in and struggling to get a mobility scooter into the boot.

Both feared a cap on free parking could force more blue badge holders to park on roads rather than in car parks.

"The car parks with a lot of spaces are too far away from any amenities and the others have spaces that are all taken up," Wilkinson added.

Councillor Ashley Baxter says people should pay for all-day parking

A man with light brown hair who is wearing a blue suit, light blue shirt and pink and blue tie. He is standing in a car park with red-brick buildings and a yellow and black entrance barrier in the background. — Councillor Ashley Baxter says people should pay for all-day parking

The proposal, agreed by the cabinet on 2 June, would apply to all council pay-and-display car parks.

Baxter, an independent councillor, said the changes were part of measures to "promote the use of town centre car parks for people who are going to spend money in the towns".

He argued people who wanted to park all day should "pay for that privilege".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the plans follow an independent study of car parks in Grantham, Stamford, Bourne, Market Deeping and Billingborough.

Councillors agreed to commission a feasibility study to identify additional parking capacity in Stamford.

In Grantham, some motorists supported the proposed system.

Kathy Donnelly, 73, who has a disabled husband, thought it would be fairer.

She said she knew a motorist "who parks their car all day in a small car park".

"It's only got two disabled slots and that isn't particularly fair, so for people like that it probably will work better," she added.

South Kesteven Council says the proposal will free up parking spaces

An empty disabled car parking bay with yellow markings, including the wheelchair symbol. — South Kesteven Council says the proposal will free up parking spaces

Blue badge holder Phillip Beal said he thought the proposal was "fair enough", as "you get three hours on your card anyway".

Baxter doubted the changes would push people to park elsewhere.

"We are bringing the situation into line with other authorities, although we are still cheaper," he said.

Government figures from March 2025 show more than three million people have a blue badge, an increase of 228,000 (8.0%) over the previous 12 months.

Last month, neighbouring authority North Kesteven District Council introduced parking charges for blue badge holders.

Freddie Talberg, who runs a company called Blue Badge Protector, which aims to prevent blue badge theft, said all-day free parking was "almost too much".

"People just need the reassurance that spaces are available," he added.

Additional reporting by Oliver Castle, LDRS.

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