Lincolnshire council told to apologise over removal of disabled parking in Louth

One of two parklets in Mercer Row, Louth, before they were taken away

Lincolnshire County Council has been ordered to apologise for failing to consult disability groups over a controversial Active Travel Scheme.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) said the council had not complied with guidance over the removal of parking spaces in Louth.

The scheme involved the installation of notorious "parklets," which were taken away last year after vandalism.

The local authority admitted it "could have done better" on the scheme.

The council removed three disabled parking spaces from Mercer Row, Louth, in March last year as part of changes to make the town more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

Two of the spaces were reinstated in August after an outcry.

Three of Louth's disabled parking bays were initially removed

The LGSCO found the council at fault for failing to consult with any local disability groups or complete an equality assessment when designing the changes.

A report published by the ombudsman said the council had claimed "specific groups are not easy to find online".

But an LGSCO investigator noted "there are many disability groups based in Lincolnshire that are easy to find online" and said the council had provided no evidence it had looked for or attempted to contact any of them.

The ombudsman, which issued a decision after receiving a complaint from a member of the public, also criticised the local authority for poor record-keeping.

It said the council should apologise to local disability groups and provide training to staff.

'Naff sunloungers'

Following the decision report, a council spokesperson said it had "previously accepted that we perhaps didn't carry out all the consultation in the best way possible" and "we will happily apologise again to those people affected".

Louth's parklets - which included brightly-coloured wooden seating and decking on a busy road - were billed as a UK-first by the council, which hoped they would encourage people to spend more time in the town centre.

But the seats were derided as "naff sunloungers" by critics and vandalised twice before being permanently removed.