Having to pay and display even with Blue Badge?

A question about : Having to pay and display even with Blue Badge?

First time I've come across this.. Got appointment to see neurosurgeon at The Walton Centre in Liverpool this week and was just looking on their website about parking.. It says even with a BB you still have to pay?

I always thought that BB holders didn't have to pay for parking? Or is it different for certain carparks?

Best answers:

• Our local hospital is free for BB holders but in the local town only 2 out of 8 carparks is free.
• Most of our local car parks have changed, and now charge the full amount.
• It is different everywhere and varies between local authorities.
  Always check it out and presume you will have to pay to be on the safe side.
  Generally if it's a council owned car park there is a higher chance of not paying in comparison to a commercially owned car park.
  The other oddity you occasionally come across is only exempt from fee's is with a tax exempt viechle. How that works in reality now I do not know since you no longer have tax discs. You come across this it seems most often in seaside holiday areas but not exclusively.
• Don't forget you can park on a double yellow line with a blue badge for up to 3 hrs so long as it's not an obstruction. Near me there's a council car park that charges Disabled drivers, so the disabled bays are empty whilst the road leading to it has a row of blue-badged cars on double yellows!
• Yes, it varies. In St. Helens, there is no free BB parking on council car pars or in hospital car parks. At Alder Hey we pay as well.
  If you are on certain income related benefits, you might be able to get travel costs paid. When we go to Alder Hey, we receive a fixed amount, plus the cash office validate the car park ticket (so that I don't have to pay), but this is because I receive income support, not because my son has a BB. You need to take proof of benefit if you want to claim back any travel expenses.
• As has been said it differs from council to council.
  All on road parking bays are free, that is the same across the country although they can be time limited in some circumstances.
  In Oldham where I live there is only 1 council run car park that is free, In Rochdale all disabled parking is free and Ashton it's a bit hit and miss.
  The idea of a blue badge though is not to provide free parking it's to provide accessible parking. Generally the disabled bays are situated closest to the entrance of the car park or closest to the amenities that the car park services.
  The bays are also generally wider allowing for wide opening doors etc.
• Why should you not have to pay for car parking? I just don't get this constant thinking of entitlement people have.
  (I do beleave nobody should have to pay for hospital car parks btw)
• All our council car parks charge for disabled parking although you get double the time of the ticket if a blue badge is displayed.
• I'm mainly playing devil's advocate here, but if someone with no mobility problems can walk two to three times as fast as someone who qualifies for a blue badge, then doesn't that mean that the blue badge holder will be paying more? ie, if it takes an hour for a blue badge holder to do the same amount of shopping as a non disabled person can do in ten minutes.
  Also how would they charge people for parking on double yellow lines? I wonder if there could be a challenge on the grounds that someone without a bb has as much right to pay to use that service as someone with.
  Although I'd be in favour of no-one having to pay to park in town/city centres to try and stop/reverse the decline due to people going to out of town shopping centres instead.
• Don't forget it's not a PCN from a private company, it's an invoice and if you refuse to pay there's pretty much sod all they can do.
• I would have no intention of paying any parking charge/notice unless it actually came from a council.
• There is a brilliant thread written by Fergie76 titled
  "Hospital Complaint for breach of Equality Act 2010"
  which I am following with interest. It is definitely worth reading as it's all about parking at hospitals.
  I hope I'm not breaking any rules pointing it out.
  HTH someone.