Northern Lincolnshire: New 'Green Badge' scheme to help people with temporary mobility issues
Those eligible will be able to park in council car parks for free for up to 10 weeks
North Lincolnshire Council is trailblazing a new scheme to help people with temporary mobility issues, in what may be the first of its kind in the country.
A new ‘Green Badge’ scheme is being introduced, to work alongside the disabled Blue Badge offering after cabinet approval just before International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The Green Badge would allow people with temporary restricted mobility caused by injury or illness to park in council-owned car park Blue Badge spaces, and to park in the council car parks for free.
Such people are not eligible for the Blue Badge. The Green Badge will be issued for up to ten weeks, with the opportunity to renew once. The scheme will begin in January.
“Sometimes people just need that lending hand to just get back on their feet,” said Cllr Elaine Marper, cabinet member for transforming the customer journey, giving examples of people with post-knee or hip operation mobility issues being eligible. “If we can encourage people to get out of their house to get on the mend and socialise, then that has to be good, I think we can all agree.
“I think what we’re doing here is an absolutely fantastic idea. We are trailblazers with this and I’m sure many other councils will be watching this space and following this initiative.”
Cllr Carl Sherwood, cabinet member for community wellbeing (rural), said there are 115 disabled bays in council car parks. The badge will be issued in paper form, free of charge. Digital was ruled out because it would not be displayed on cars and it could lead to friction “as people can be quite aggressive in car parking”.
Cllr Sherwood added the initiative showed it was a caring council that was looking at more options to make people independent. “For a real life example, I had contact from somebody last week who would not have been eligible for a Blue Badge,” said council leader Cllr Rob Waltham. “The challenge for them was that they’d had a stroke,” he said, adding the man was 48 years old, showing the scheme could be beneficial to different ages.
“I think it’s a great scheme, a great idea and I do welcome it,” said Labour Cllr Andrea Davison. “I do have concerns about staffing because there are currently delays on the Blue Badge applications. And that, in itself, can cause issues for people with mobility and disabled problems.”
She also had concerns about the evidence needed to qualify for a Green Badge. To get it, people will need to submit:
Details of the nature of the condition and how it restricts mobility.
Confirmation it is a temporary condition, and an estimated recovery time.
A letter or medical report from from a GP, nurse practitioner or hospital consultant, confirming the above.
“It’s absolutely almost impossible to get a written letter from your GP or health professional,” said Cllr Davison. She asked if the NHS app health page could count as evidence. Her suggestion was warmly welcomed by cabinet members, and Cllr Waltham confirmed the Green Badges would be made available via this evidence.
“The point’s well made about the Blue Badge,” he said, adding that the council’s frontline staff did “a great job” supporting applicants, which Cllr Davison indicated she agreed with. Cllr Sherwood said “the main problem” with the speed of Blue Badge applications was getting the car registration and photographs onto it. The Green Badge would skip these elements.
Labour Cllr Judith Matthews asked if more Blue Badge spaces would be created, and if the Green Badges would have holographic detail, like Blue Badges, to prevent misuse. “There are more spaces planned, particularly in Scunthorpe,” said Cllr Waltham.
A scheme to create more disabled bays in Parishes multi-storey car park is out for costings, and there are plans for extra disabled spaces near St John’s Church. Cllr Sherwood advised a hologram would not be on the badge. It was “less likely to be abused” because of its temporary nature and the same level of authentication was not needed.