Disabled woman 'trapped' in home without parking

Emily Martins is unable to use her Blue Badge in the disabled parking bays

A disabled woman has said she feels trapped in her south London flat because she has been denied a visitor parking space.

Emily Martins, who uses a manual wheelchair and has a Blue Badge, said she was reassured by landlord PA Housing that she would have access to parking before she moved into Venture House in Wandsworth.

The 31-year-old said she needed her mother, who has a mobility car, to visit to help her with daily tasks and going outside, but her mother was regularly being hit with parking fines for using the disabled bays on site.

PA Housing said it would review whether one of the disabled parking bays could be reserved for visitors when it next becomes available.

Ms Martins told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was denied a resident permit because the car was not registered to her address as she cannot use it herself.

"A Blue Badge means nothing here," she said. "Even putting me in the car you get a parking ticket, it doesn't make sense.

"If I can't park, I can't go out. If I can't use my Blue Badge, then I can't do anything.

"I can't take a train because it's not accessible, the buses are another joke."

'It doesn't make sense'

Ms Martins said she told officers from PA Housing she would need access to a parking bay before she moved in, and was assured this would be possible.

When she followed this up, she said she was told she could park in one of the disabled bays with her Blue Badge visible but she would need a permit.

She submitted the required forms to PA Housing, but was told she could not have a permit because the car was not registered to her address.

"I said it wouldn't be, because if it was, it would be parked here all the time and it wouldn't move because I can't drive," Ms Martins said.

She added: "It doesn't make sense, why would they put disabled people in a block that doesn't have parking?

"I should be able to be a 31-year-old woman going out with my friends, having family over, and I don't have any of that."

Sally-Anne Underhill, from PA Housing, said: "We sympathise with Emily and understand her frustrations when her mum is picking her up or dropping her off.

"There are only 10 spaces at the building, which was determined by the local authority as part of the planning approval process. At this time, all 10 are designated disabled parking bays and are allocated to residents who are registered disabled and own a vehicle which means we are unable to issue Emily a permit or allocate a space.

"We remain committed to ensuring fair access to parking for our disabled residents and their visitors, so when a space next becomes available, we will review and explore whether a bay can be allocated as a visitors' space to support Emily and others in similar circumstances."