York blue badge ban: Coalition of campaigners in protest

The Reverse The Ban group said the council's decision was "discriminatory"

A protest has been held by a coalition of organisations committed to reversing York's blue badge parking ban.

Reverse the Ban (RTB), made up of 24 York groups, said the city council's "discriminatory decisions" hit disabled and older people the hardest.

The council took away the exemption in November which allowed blue badge holders to park in the footstreets.

It has promised to improve access to the city centre, including a programme of dropped kerbs and better pavement.

Campaigners said not enough was being done, and 31 more disabled spaces would soon be lost during the closure of Castle Car Park to make way for a regeneration project.

City of York Council said at the time that removing the blue badge exemption was necessary to allow anti-terror defences to be installed to protect visitors and shoppers.

Thirty-one more disabled spaces have been earmarked to go

Disabled activist Anne Norton told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) : "It is clear that the council has no coherent plan. This is the latest in a series of failures and disabled people are being discarded on the altar of convenience."

York Paralympian Beth Moulam added: "Having a blue badge is not a perk or a luxury in life.

"In the case of my gran, she can only walk short distances on even surfaces with a walking frame. Sadly, York's policy has made our home city a no go area for us both."

Campaigners are exploring the possibility of a legal challenge against the blue badge ban.

Flick Williams organised Saturday's protest, which took place in Castle Car Park.

She said: "Disabled people are increasingly angry at these blatantly discriminatory decisions.

"The council consults with us and then disingenuously ignores us. Covid has allowed this authority to ignore our needs in a way that would have been unthinkable before the pandemic.

"This is our chance to come together to show solidarity with one another and highlight to the Council that they ignore us at their peril. We are fighting for our right to be included."