A Lincoln man, described as 'a Champion for disability rights', has successfully won his fight to get Lincoln Council to review its decision on car parking charges introduced for blue badge holders in April 2009.
The City of Lincoln Council has now come to an agreement with Matt Smith, 29, without the need to go to a final hearing at the High Court. Mr Smith claims that the decision to introduce the charges is unlawful.
Following detailed discussions with Matt Smith and his legal representation from Wake Smith, an action plan has been agreed, which will result in a new and thorough Consultation and reassessment of parking charges for disabled people in Lincoln.
The Council does not accept that the original decision was flawed. However there has been further public debate about the issue of charging since the charges were introduced and over 3,000 people signed a petition to force the review. Therefore the Council accepts that it would be right to re-consult with car parking users and to review the decision.
Matt Smith: "I am delighted that Lincoln Council has agreed to review the provision of parking for blue badge holders. I look forward to being actively involved in the consultation process as part of the review panel to ensure that the views and concerns of blue badge holders are represented throughout the process. I would also like to thank everyone who has supported this campaign and I hope it encourages people to speak up in the future."
Terry Regan, Wake Smith & Tofields said: "This is a tremendous result for Matt - throughout the legal process Matt has been keen to raise awareness of the issue for the sake of the 18,000 blue badge holders in the region. He has worked tirelessly to champion disability rights.
"The next stage of the process will see Matt involved in the review process to ensure that the parking charges do not discriminate against people with disabilities; at present disabled people are paying proportionately more to park in Lincoln than non-disabled people which is clearly unfair. This is a success story for Matt and for disability rights, something which could not have been achieved without the support of my team at Wake Smith and Lincoln charity CALL Advocacy."
The decision to introduce charging for blue badge holders followed a review of car parking fees and charges as part of the Council's Service Review programme in 2009. The decision covers City Council operated off-street car parks.
Following the Executive's decision in 2009 the council has introduced a number of measures to complement the introduction of the new charges, these include:
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New ticket machines;
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A review of the number of disabled parking bays, with a view to increasing these in the near future;
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A new scratch-card payment scheme, to supplement the alternative options already available such as payment by phone
The council has started to conduct customer surveys to analyse the car parking service, to enable it to review the decision and is planning further consultation in the near future.
A date has not yet been set for the matter to go to the Executive to consider, but it is intended that it will be in the summer of 2010.
For more information please contact David Brown on 0114 266 6660 or email [email protected].
