Camberwell Morrison's car park now charging blue badge holders to park

[trinidad]

The car park of Morrison's in Camberwell Green are now charging blue badge holders to use their car park. Is this a fair practice, or completely wrong, as registered disabled drivers often have low income, and need the us of their vehicle???

[hammerman]

Not sure about that Trinidad and hope you can sort it out re the disabled blue badge. I've always shopped at Morrisons (parked, walked, bus) and all the other shops in Butterfly Walk for years but the other day found out the car park is due for some kind of makeover!

Morrisons don't own the car park so whoever does is free to do what they want.

[Lynne]

Something on the news about setting up a container site of shops etc, like the one at the Elephant in a car park in Camberwell, couldn't work out where they meant but this could be it.

[RickB]

Seems that maybe they agreed to remedy this, but it hasn't happened.

https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/shopping-centre-owners-axe-parking-fee-disabled-visitors-complaints/

[Sally Eva]

From the SN story it looks as though they are obliged under their planning permission to accept blue badges so I would complain to your councillor that they are infringing planning law

[ianr]

The article says "The contractor has however agreed to arrange for the system to be reprogrammed so that any car with a disabled badge registered against it will not need to pay a ticket.".

Do blue badges routinely have a car registration number linked to them? The Southwark online application page doesn't say that information is needed. In fact one page say "The badge can be used in any car the badge holder is driving or is a passenger in.". Is there even any facility anywhere for connecting a blue badge with car registration(s)?

[DrinkingBuddy]

You can register a car with a blue badge, this is generally done to enable a car to park in a specific bay without the badge (normally the bay outside a blue badge holders house as cars are frequently broken in to to steal the blue badge).

That being said, not many people do this and it obviously doesn't help those who don't have their own car but have a badge and friends or carers that help them.

As far as I'm aware, there is no obligation for a car park owner to make blue badge parking free, rather provide the spaces in accessible locations. Of course in practise it is common for them to be free.