Application criteria and parking rules for Blue Badge holders

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• Application criteria and parking rules for Blue Badge holders

1 What is the Blue Badge Scheme?

The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for people with severe walking difficulties who travel either as drivers or passengers. The Scheme also applies to registered blind people, and people with very severe upper limb disabilities who regularly drive a vehicle but cannot turn a steering wheel by hand. It allows badge holders to park close to their destination. The national concessions allow badge holders to park on-street but they may not apply to car parks.

2 Please read this information carefully

If you have a Blue Badge but do not have a car, other people may use their own cars to drive you around. Please ask them to read this information too. They also need to know THEIR rights and responsibilities with the Blue Badge.

3 Criteria for obtaining a Blue Badge:

You can get a Blue Badge if:

• you receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance on a long-term basis
• you receive the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement
• you are registered blind
• you hold a driving licence and have a severe impairment in both upper limbs and are unable to operate, or have a lot of difficulty operating, all or some types of parking meter.
• you are unable to walk or have a lot of difficulty walking because of a permanent and substantial disability;

Children under the age of 2 can only get a Blue Badge if:

• The child has medical condition (for example, children with hip dysplasia, children with tracheostomies) requiring the transportation of bulky medical equipment (for example, a cast, a ventilator) at all times, or;
• The child has a medical condition that requires them to be kept near a motor vehicle at all times in order to be treated for that condition in the vehicle, or to allow them to be taken immediately to a place where they can be treated.

People with a psychological disorder will not normally qualify unless their impairment causes very considerable, and not intermittent, difficulty in walking.

(Organisations caring for disabled people meeting one or more of the above criteria may be able to get a badge, but this is entirely at the discretion of the local authority and the conditions for using such a badge must be strictly observed)

4 How to apply for a Blue Badge

New applicant

If you think you may be entitled to a Blue Badge, you can call Community Care Services on 020 8547 6008 or download an application form from the bottom of this page.

Renewal of a Blue Badge

The Blue Badge lasts for three years (or less if the holder ceases to be entitled to the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance during the 3 year period). When this time is up, you will need to apply again to the local authority for a new badge. It is best to do this several weeks before your current badge runs out. You will NOT be sent a reminder.

5 Photographs

The Blue Badge is a two-sided card with space for a photograph of the badge holder on the back of the card. Your application should, therefore, be accompanied by two reasonably recent photographs, which you should sign on the back. You may send passport-type photographs taken from self-service booths or any suitable photographs cut down to a passport photo size.

6 The scheme does not apply:

• on private roads
• in off-street car parks. However, some may provide spaces for disabled people. You should check the signs to see what concessions are available, and whether Blue Badge holders have to pay. Always display your Blue Badge when occupying one of these spaces. If you are unsure whether you can park, you should check with a traffic warden or police officer
• in certain town centres, where access is prohibited or limited to vehicles with special permits issued locally
• in Central London, but some facilities are provided (see section7)
• on the road systems at some airports (e.g. Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick). You should therefore contact the airport concerned in advance to check the car parking arrangements

7 Central London

The Scheme does not apply in the following areas in Central London - the City of London, the City of Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and that part of the London Borough of Camden, bounded by and including the borough boundary, Euston Road, Upper Woburn Place, Tavistock Square, Woburn Place, Russell Square, Southampton Road, Theobalds Road and Clerkenwell Road.

These authorities also offer a limited range of concessions to other disabled people. These generally consist of parking spaces reserved for Blue Badge holders and some form of concessionary parking at meters in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea after the initial period of parking has been paid for.

Congestion Charging

Blue Badge holders are exempt from the London congestion charging but you will need to register a car against your badge. For further information on registering for Congestion Charging in London, you should contact 0845 900 1234 or visit www.cclondon.com.

If you are deaf or hard of  hearing you can use the textphone service on 020-7649 9123.

8 Red Routes

Red routes are main roads in Greater London where stopping (for parking or loading) is not allowed except at designated times and in specially marked places. Some of these places are specifically reserved for Blue Badge holders, but you should always check the signs to see what concessions are available. A vehicle displaying a Blue Badge may stop, but only to pick up or set down the badge holder.

The Traffic Director for London has general information on concessions for Blue Badge holders on roads subject to priority (Red) route controls. This can be obtained by telephoning 020 7941 2010.

9 Where to park in Kingston

Use the link at the bottom of this page to find guidance on Blue Badge parking rules specific to Kingston.

10 Where not to park

The Blue Badge is not a licence to park anywhere. You must NOT park during the period when a ban on loading or unloading is in force (normally indicated by one or two yellow marks on the kerb with the times shown on post mounted signs).

For example:

However, in pedestrian areas, waiting and loading restrictions may be in force even where there are no yellow lines shown on the road or kerb. Details of any restrictions in force will be shown on plates displayed at the kerb side of the road.

You must NOT park:

• where there are double white lines in the centre of the road even if one of the lines is broken
• in a bus or tram lane during its hours of operation
• in a cycle lane
• on any clearway, double or single red lines during their hours of operation
• on all pedestrian crossings - including Zebra, Pelican, Toucan and Puffin crossings
• on zig-zag markings before and after Zebra, Pelican, Toucan and Puffin crossings
• in parking places reserved for specific users, e.g. loading bays, taxis bays
• in suspended meter or pay and display bays
• where temporary restrictions on parking are in force along a length of road, e.g. as indicated by no-waiting cones
• on school "keep clear" markings during the hours shown on a yellow no-stopping plate.

You must also NOT park where it would be obstructive or cause a danger to others. The following are likely examples:

• at school entrances, bus stops, on a bend, or near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
• where it would make it difficult for others to see clearly, e.g. close to a junction
• where it would make the road narrow, e.g. by a traffic island or where roadwork is in progress
• where it would hold up traffic, e.g. in narrow stretches of road or blocking vehicle entrances
• where emergency vehicles stop or go in and out, e.g. hospital entrances
• where the kerb has been lowered or the road raised to form a pedestrian crossing
• on a pavement unless signs permit it.

Remember:

If you park where it would cause an obstruction or danger to other road users your vehicle could be removed by the police. You could also be prosecuted and your badge withdrawn.

The vehicle must be moved if a police officer, traffic warden or parking attendant in uniform requests it.

11 How to use and display the Blue Badge

• When you are parking and want to enjoy the benefits of your Blue Badge, you must always put it on top of the dashboard or at your windscreen inside your vehicle. Place it so that the wheelchair symbol faces upwards. This is so that officials can read it easily from the outside.
• You should only display your Blue Badge when you have parked and are using the benefits of the scheme. (This rule does not apply in areas which you can only get into by displaying a badge. In these areas, anyone driving a vehicle to pick up and drop off a badge holder should display the badge.)
• Similar badges given to organisations supporting disabled people must not be used by non-disabled members for their own benefit. These badges must not be on display except when the vehicle is being used for the benefit of disabled people.

12 How to use the time ('clock') disc

In Scotland, there is no time restriction on parking for Blue Badge holders, unless local restrictions apply.

In England and Wales you will need a parking disc when you park on yellow lines or in a reserved parking place for badge holders which has a time limit. The disc must be displayed every time you park and set to show the time of arrival.

Badge holders living in Scotland who intend to visit England or Wales should apply to their local authority for the loan of a parking disc which can be used for the duration of your stay in England and Wales.

Parking discs are not a requirement in Northern Ireland.

13 Your duties as a Blue Badge holder

The purpose of the Scheme is to allow you to visit shops and other places. You must ensure that you use your badge with care and attention to the rules.

• It is your responsibility to ensure that the badge is used properly. (It is in your own interest that the badge should retain the respect of other motorists. Please play your part.) You must not allow other people to use the badge for their own journeys. (Allowing someone else to use your badge is a criminal offence. To reduce the risk of this happening accidentally, you should remove the badge whenever you are not using the parking concessions).
• You should not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car. Although it is not illegal for a badge holder, or a non-disabled person waiting for the badge holder to return, to remain in the vehicle while the Blue Badge is displayed, consideration should be given to using a car park or other parking place wherever possible.
• You must ensure that the details on the front of the badge remain readable. If it becomes unreadable, the badge must be returned to the local authority for re-issue.
• If you lose your badge or it is stolen, you should report the badge as missing to the police and your local authority.

14 Misuse of a Blue Badge

Misuse of a Blue Badge is a serious offence.

• Your badge can be withdrawn if you misuse it or allow others to misuse it.
• It is a criminal offence for non-disabled people to use a badge, unless they are driving a Blue Badge holder. If they do so, they are liable to a fine of up to £1,000.
• It is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle displaying a Blue Badge unless the badge holder is in the vehicle, or the vehicle is being driven by someone other than the badge holder for the purpose of entering or leaving an area (which is accessible only to vehicles displaying a Blue Badge) in order to pick up or drop off the holder.

15 Misuse of a designated Blue Badge parking bay

Non-disabled people who park in a bay designated for Blue Badge holders are liable to receive a Penalty Charge Notice. These bays are specifically for the use of disabled people only.

16 Change of circumstances

Remember that if you are a disabled driver and your disability is such that it is likely or may become likely to affect your ability to drive (even if your car is adapted) the law requires you to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea (for further information, see your driving licence).

If your circumstances change and you no longer need your badge, you must return it to the local authority.

If you change your address, you should notify your local authority so that they may amend their records.

Upon the death of a Blue Badge holder, the badge should be returned to the issuing local authority.