Council introduces fee for Blue Badge applications in Shropshire
Blue Badge holders in Shropshire will pay £10 when applying for a badge after the charge was approved by Shropshire Council today.
From today Blue Badge holders will also receive an additional hour of free parking on top of the period paid for. The aim is to provide the extra time that many Blue Badge holders require to carry out tasks.
The changes approved by Shropshire Council’s cabinet follows a review of the council’s approach to parking charges in its car parks for Blue Badge holders in light of the Equality Act 2010, which sets out the requirements on public bodies.
The new £10 charge for badges is designed to reduce fraud and abuse.
Shropshire Council handles approximately 5,000 Blue Badge applications a year, and has approximately 14,000 registered Blue Badge holders.
The new free hour parking concession applies to car parks operated by Shropshire Council; those operated by other councils, and privately (such as NCP), have their own charging policy.
This concession only applies to surface level car parks initially, and excludes the multi storey car park (Raven Meadows in Shrewsbury) because of the payment method there. Shropshire Council say they are updating payment methods over the next 12 months, and aim to include the multi storey in the near future.
Blue Badge holders are still able to park free on double yellow lines and in on-street parking spaces.
