Two Aylesbury car parks made more accessible.

Changes are set to be made to popular Aylesbury town-centre car parks to make them easier to use for disabled drivers.

Buckinghamshire Council is pushing ahead with plans to upgrade its payment machines at Upper Hundreds and Walton Street multi-storey car parks.

Pay on foot machines will make way for pay and display machines at both sites.

A council report read: “Changing the payment methods also provides greater flexibility and is more user friendly for customers with disabilities who are in receipt of a Blue Badge.

“Currently, Blue Badge holders are required to take their badge to the office in Upper Hundreds car park to have their parking validated.

“In Walton Street, the car park is unstaffed and therefore Blue Badge holders are required to pay to park if they wish to use this car park.

“The limitations for Blue Badges are due to the barrier controlled system which supports the current pay of foot payment methods.

“Pay and display operations will enable Blue Badge holders to park for free, as per the other car parks in Aylesbury, without the inconvenience of seeking assistance for car park validation.”

The report stated the new machines will be introduced because the existing equipment is “old” and “repeatedly breaks down”, which is “costly” and “creates inconvenience” for customers.

Responses from a consultation on the planned changes showed some drivers wanted to retain the option to pay by cash.

One said: “It is not always easy to gauge how much parking time is required.

“The previous payment option enabled customers to pay on return and only for actual time on park via machines that gave change.

“This meant there was no need for paper for the tickets.”

A response from a council officer indicated customers can also top up their parking time using the RingGo mobile app without the need to return to the car park.