Motability Car and parking permit.

Maryanneslapcabbage

Where we live is a resident parking permit area.
I have a motability car which was renewed last October.
Just 3 months before the renewal,resident parking was brought in,so we applied for 2 permits,1 for the car and 1 visitors permit,at the cost of £20.00 each.
When my husband went to renew the permit for the new car in October, we were told we had to pay another £20.00.

He told them that we had looked on the councils website and it said that motability cars are exempt from the charge as we have no choice but to replace the car every 3 years, but the council say that the exemption only applies to adapted motability cars.

We have since asked what the councils criteria for an 'adapted' vehicle means,but it seems that no-one knows the answer to this.

We have approached our local councillor, who agreed with us that this is wrong and could be seen as discrimination. He promised to get back to us,which was 7 months ago,but haven't heard anything since.

My husband wrote to the transport section of the council and the reply was vague and again no explanation for adaption exemption. He wrote again asking for an explanation and 5 months later,no reply.

While all this has been going on, we have a temporary parking permit on the car,which expired just 3 days ago.
We didn't realise this until we saw a traffic warden issue a ticket.

So, we phone the council again and ask if we can have a parking permit free of charge and were told no,we have to pay another £20.00.,unless the vehicle is adapted.

We are at a loss as to what to do or where to go next with this.

We feel it is unfair that motability users are being discriminated in this way.

Another point is that no-one from the council has been approached by anyone else with a non-adapted motability vehicle,complaining about the charge.

Has anyone else been in the same position?

Thanks in advance..

fed_up_and_stressed

Put a complaint in citing the Equalities Act. Adaptions v non adations mean in effect they could be perceived as being discriminatory against certain types of disabled people who don't require adaptations.

dori2o

fed_up_and_stressed wrote: »

Put a complaint in citing the Equalities Act. Adaptions v non adations mean in effect they could be perceived as being discriminatory against certain types of disabled people who don't require adaptations.

Exactly, a disability is a disability, if that disability means you meet the national criteria for a diasbled parking badge (blue badge) then that should be enough.

As advised write to them citing the Equalities Act 2010.