Protest against York’s blue badge parking ban
Reverse the Ban is holding the demonstration on Saturday.
A new coalition of organisations committed to reversing York’s blue badge parking ban is to hold a protest on Saturday.
Reverse the Ban (RTB), made up of 24 York groups, are demonstrating against City of York Council’s “discriminatory decisions” which they say hit disabeld and older people the hardest.
The council controversially removed the exemption which allowed blue badge holders to park in city’s footstreets in November.
Campaigners have now said that their ability to park on the periphery of the city centre is also under threat.
Plans to permanently close Castle Car Park to make way for a regeneration project will see 31 blue badge spaces lost – with just six being retained in Tower Street.
The council has promised to improve access to the city centre, including a programme of dropped kerbs and better pavements, as well ast the employment of an access officer – but campaigners have said not enough is being done.
Disabled activist Anne Norton said: “It is clear that the council has no coherent plan. This is the latest in a series of failures and disabled people are being discarded on the altar of convenience.”
York paralympian Beth Moulam, who is reliant on a wheelchair accessible van and technology that needs to be kept dry, said: “Having a blue badge is not a perk or a luxury in life.
“In the case of my gran, she can only walk short distances on even surfaces with a walking frame. Sadly, York’s policy has made our home city a no go area for us both.”
The council said at the time that removing the blue badge exemption was necessary to allow anti-terror defences to be installed to protect visitors and shoppers.
A police chief said that it was “reasonably foreseeable” that a terrorist could target York city centre at a busy time, such as Christmas.
“The council has a duty to protect the lives of residents and visitors,” a spokesperson said.
Campaigners are exploring the possibility of a legal challenge against the blue badge ban.
Flick Williams is organising the latest protest, which will take place in Castle Car Park, opposite the Hilton Hotel, at 5pm.
She said: “Disabled people are increasingly angry at these blatantly discriminatory decisions.
“The council consults with us and then disingenuously ignores us. Covid has allowed this authority to ignore our needs in a way that would have been unthinkable before the pandemic.
“This is our chance to come together to show solidarity with one another and highlight to the Council that they ignore us at their peril. We are fighting for our right to be included.”