Crackdown on Blue Badge misuse in York

As part of a National Day of Action teams from the council and Veritau have carried out a crack-down on badge misuse.

The crack-down on badge misuse and fraud took place on Friday 24 May as part of the National Blue Badge Day of Action.

Parking enforcement officers and fraud investigators at City of York Council worked together to ensure that only legitimate Blue Badges were being used correctly. This means it must be displayed in a parked vehicle used by the badge owner, or by a driver parking to pick up or drop off the badge owner.

Badges are identified by the council’s enforcement officers, with Veritau’s fraud officers contacting the badge owner, to ensure that it’s use is appropriate.

Over the course of the day, 73 Blue badges were checked with one ticket issued for a parking contravention.

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“Pick and mix” approach to next stage of Front Street regeneration

Adapted seats for the disabled were provided as part of the first phase of the upgrade

The York Council has produced a list of changes that could be made to Front Street as part of the second phase of its regeneration plans. The Council is utilising £570,000 from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund to pay for the work. The project has to be completed by March 2025

The first phase of the work took place last spring and concentred on levelling off the pavements, improving drainage , new seating and adapted cycle racks. More bollards were provided to protect the footpaths. These proved to be unpopular with some residents.

Options for consultation

The new proposals would see £40,000 spent removing some of the bollards. There will be many who would think that the money would be better spent repairing the roads.

Consultants have been appointed and design and management costs are put at £100,000.

£42,500 has already been committed to upgrading the public toilets (rightly).

That doesn’t leave much money for the other changes.

The shopping list produced by Council officials doesn’t include the adoption of the forecourts outside the shops. These would have to be brought up to an adoptable standard at a cost of £350,000. That would use up all of the remaining budget. Having a level surface outside the carriageway was one of the top priorities identified by residents during previous consultation.

That isn’t going to happen nor is 24/7 pedestrianisation which is both controversial and hugely expensive (over £1 million)

So the bulk of the proposed funding is for improved blue badge parking and larger speed tables.

 It is far from clear why painting new blue badge markings should cost over £100K. Many would prefer to have free access on at least one day a week so they could park outside their preferred destination (as now happens in the City centre). It would be much easier to do in Acomb

Extended full-width raised tables appear only to offer the prospect of a level site for part-time market stalls or entertainers. Emergency service vehicle access would have to be maintained anyway.

The list conspicuously fails to do anything for cyclists. The current cycle track down Cross Street is wholly inadequate. It dumps cycles onto a footpath and pedestrian crossing.

Full public consultation is promised. The options offered seem very limited.

NB. Those with long memories will recall that a pedestrian crossing established near the Morrisons car park entrance had to be moved further away (to near Vyner House) following a campaign by Labour council candidates!

Courts deal with drivers misusing Blue Badges in York

Fines of over £1000 levied

As part of ongoing work to protect legitimate Blue Badge users, investigators in York have successful uncovered and prosecuted two instances of Blue Badge fraud.

Working with the Council’s fraud investigation service, Veritau, two cases of fraud have now been successfully convicted, helping protect the rights of Blue Badge holders across the city and ensure that Blue Badge holder parking facilities are available for those who actually need them.

The number of cases where Blue Badges fraud occurs are rare, but these cases were identified as part of the regular investigative work that takes place in the city. Blue Badges must only be displayed in parked vehicles where the badge owner is present, or when the driver is specifically parking to pick up or drop off the badge holder.

Steven McHale of Kingsgate, Bridlington (aged 39), was found to be misusing a Blue Badge that did not belong to him. The investigation determined that the badge holder was not with Mr McHale when he travelled to York, or in the city when his vehicle was parked in a disabled parking bay in Castle Car Park by Clifford’s Tower in March 2023.

Mr McHale was invited to attend an interview under caution about his use of the Blue Badge but failed to attend on three separate occasions.

During the court case, on 10 November, Mr McHale pleaded guilty and apologised for the offence, and for lying when had been confronted by Council officers on the day the Blue Badge was misused. York Magistrates Court ordered him to pay a £115 fine, £46 surcharge and £668 court costs.

Danel Balan, a takeaway delivery driver of Sandhurst Grove, Leeds (aged 29), was found using a photocopy of a Blue Badge which did not belong to him in York city centre in May 2023.

A Council Civil Enforcement Officer noted that the Blue Badge, used by Mr Balan to park on double yellow lines on Duncombe Place, appeared to be a paper photocopy.

Mr Balan was invited to attend an interview under caution about his misuse of the Blue Badge but failed to attend on three separate occasions.

During the court hearing on 8 December 2023, which Mr Balan did not attend, he was found guilty by York Magistrates Court which ordered him to pay a total of £1,657.

Since 2018, to protect people who need and legitimately use a Blue badge, City of York Council has successfully prosecuted 11 people for misusing a Blue Badge, 33 people have been cautioned, and 90 people have received written warnings.

From 4 January 2024, any Blue Badge holders driving into the city centre via Goodramgate, between 10:30am and 5pm, will have their Blue Badge checked as a condition of entry by staff at sliding barriers.

Blue Badge Ban – Decision next week

To make it clear from the start, this site believes that only emergency vehicles should be permitted to access the York City Centre foot streets between 10:30am and 5:00pm.

Irrespective of police advice on countering terrorist threats, moving vehicles present an unnecessary hazard on crowded streets. Some of the most vulnerable are children, the elderly and those using disability aids.

There have been 38 incidents involving pedestrians in the footstreets in recent years. Half of those involved elderly people.

Having said that, clearly, the York Council now feels that some access during these hours should be restored for Blue Badge holders. A report will be discussed at a meeting next week.

The officials authoring the report don’t make any recommendations on what should happen. That is being left to Labour politicians to decide. It is clear from the report, though, that there are some misgivings about making a decision which flies in the face of police specialist advice.

The report includes the results of the “consultation” survey undertaken by the Council in the summer. Only 3126 responses were received (less than 2% of the population of the City). Of these, 1884 responses were received from Blue Badge holders. There are around 8,000 Blue Badge holders in the City.

The survey failed to ask a simple question. Should non emergency vehicles be allowed to drive into the pedestrian area between 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m? Instead the survey relied on respondents knowing what the pre-2019 situation was.

Labour are likely to reopen the following footstreets to Blue Badge holders. Blake Street, Lendal, St. Helen’s Square, Goodramgate (between Deangate and King’s Square), Church Street, Kings Square, and Colliergate

The annual cost of manning access barriers at the Blake Street and Goodramgate entry points is put at £200,000 a year.

Kings Square parking to return?

There is no indication in the report about the impact that changes to kerbside parking space availability, which have taken place over the last 4 years, will have. Without knowing the parking capacity, it would be difficult for the Council to take action to deter abortive visits. There are no plans which would allow parking spaces to be reserved in advance.

There are also no plans to require vehicles to proceed through the footsteps at a walking pace, to give way to pedestrians or encourage the use of low emission models.

There has been some opposition to the changes, with outdoor cafes particularly vulnerable to the introduction of more kerbside parking spaces.

Any change is likely to be introduced early next year.

New consultation on City centre access is flawed

Vehicle access and parking would be reintroduced in these streets under Labours plans

The York Council is asking whether vehicles should be allowed to drive down the nine streets during pedestrian hours.

These are the streets from which blue badge holders – and others – had been excluded during the pandemic. (Castlegate was subsequently reopened)

In June 2020, as part of the Coronavirus recovery plan, no vehicles were allowed into a range of City centre streets during pedestrian hours..

The orders were made permenent in November 2021 following consultation in July of that year.

The Council survey – which can be accessed by clicking here – asks whether the decision should be reversed.

Residents are offered an “all or nothing” choice so those who are sceptical about reintroducing parking in the likes of Kings Square, Church Street or St Helens Square are left with no option but to reject the offered package.

click to complete survey

Pedestrian movement patterns over the last 4 years have changed considerably.

No figures are offered in explanation of the consultation. It assumes, for example, that people know what decisions the Council took in November 2021 and what mitigation arrangements have been put in place subsequently.

There have been numerous consultations on access arrangements over the years including one in 2015

Changes to address the emerging threat of terrrorist hostile vehicle attacks were considered in 2018

In reality though, the Council had already decided to further reduce the number of vehicles driving through the predestrian area simply to reduce potential safety conflicts.

Unfortunately the consultation provides no opportunity to explore this issue or similar ones, nor could anyone, who might favour some access for blue badge holders, express the view that busy streets like Kings Square and St Helens Square should be protected or that access to kerbside parking should be available only on a pre-booked basis.

There is little opportunity to suggest conditions on any access – e.g. vehicles in the footstreets to proceed at walking pace and give way to pedestrians – so the arguments are likley to continue for some time.

Pedestrian Zone 2011

Depending on how well the survey is publicised we should get some idea as to whether the majority of residents actually want to allow more vehicles into the footstreets.

Labour Councillors seem to be convinced that we do. Time will tell.

York fraud against Blue Badges tackled

Action taken against three fraudsters

Council parking officers and fraud investigators from Veritau – the organisation that investigates fraud on behalf of the council – worked together to check the use of Blue Badges across the city.

On the day of action on 2 June, 84 badges were checked across the city. Two Penalty Charge Notices were issued and a badge was confiscated because the Blue Badges were being used by people who weren’t badge holders or who weren’t supporting the badge holder.

The Blue Badge scheme is designed to help disabled people park closer to their destination. Their badge must be visible in the front windscreen of their car when parked in a designated space or on double yellow lines where appropriate. A Blue Badge must only be used when the owner is present, or the driver is parking specifically to pick them up or drop them off.

Although almost all Blue Badges are used correctly, there is a small minority who fraudulently use other people’s badges, either to save money by parking in disabled bays or who just want to park closer to their destination. It’s an offence to misuse a Blue Badge, with offenders facing possible prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.

Pauline Stuchfield, Director of Customer and Communities at City of York Council, said:

Over 7,200 Blue Badges are held in York and we know that fraudulent use of them is a concern for the disabled community. However, as not all disabilities are visible and to avoid causing any unnecessary stress for a genuine Blue Badge owner, please report any suspected misuse of a Blue Badge to Veritau rather than challenge an individual directly.”

Neil Ferris, Director of Place at City of York Council, said:

We take concerns about all forms of fraud very seriously. The misuse of Blue Badges has the added consequence of depriving disabled people of facilities specifically provided to meet their needs. The day of action aims to support disabled people’s continued access to services, employment and activities.”

Last month (May 2023), Magistrates fined a visitor to the city who misused a Blue Badge and so wrongly took a designated parking space.

York Magistrates ordered Thomas Prior, 68, of Waterside Road, Barton-upon-Humber, to pay a fine for misusing a deceased family member’s Blue Badge in August last year. An investigation into the misuse was conducted by Veritau following a report from a civil enforcement officer. The officer had noted that the expiry date on a displayed Blue Badge had been altered to give the impression that it was still valid.

On 12 May 2023, Mr Prior submitted a postal guilty plea to the Court for the wrongful misuse of the Blue Badge. He was ordered to pay £1,652.67 which included a fine of £600, costs of £812.67 and a court surcharge of £240.

Anyone with information about Blue Badge fraud or fraudulent activity against the council is encouraged to call Veritau’s hotline on 0800 9179 247, or email fraud@york.gov.uk. The call can be anonymous, and all concerns are treated seriously.

Crowded York streets present challenges for Council and traders

City centre streets have been particularly busy over the half-term holidays. Although this is good news for the local economy, some conflicts have reemerged for the first time since the end of the pandemic.

Davygate

The Council has said that the road works on Petergate and Lendal will extend now for another 2 or 3 weeks.

The access path on Petergate remains single file only and is inaccessible for some types of wheelchair.

That is disappointing

Elsewhere cycle parking spaces have been at a premium. The need for better facilities has been generally accepted for some years now but a solution remains illusive.

But the elephant in the room remains the election promise of some new Labour Councillors who want to allow vehicular access, (Blue Badge holders) into some footstreets.

They refused to say which streets they meant before the elections but some charities – who claim to be representative of the views of people with disabilities – have since said that they “want access and parking in line with the 2019 arrangements”.

In 2019 blue badge parking access was allowed on

• Goodramgate (between Deangate and King’s Square)
• King’s Square
• Church Street
• Colliergate
• Blake Street
• St Helen’s Square
• Lendal

Other streets, including St Sampsons Square, Coney Street and Davygate, were already part of the core foot street zone by 2019.

Irrespective of any views that might be held on terrorist threat levels, the simple fact is that many streets, including Davygate and Church Street, are now so crowded with pedestrians that any vehicle movement represents a hazard. The most vulnerable are young children and, ironically, those using mobility aids.

We doubt that there is a compromise that will suit everyone. However, a system which requires a kerbside parking space to be booked in advance, would at least control the number of vehicles “touring” the pedestrian area in search of a vacant space.

City centre access row rubbles on

A report is being presented to a meeting next week which details objections which have been made to the Council proposal to ban all vehicles from the pedestrian areas between 10:30am and 7:00pm.

Last year the Council confirmed that “Blue Badge” holders would be excluded.

The Council consulted on whether any other vehicles – other than blue light services – should be able access the zone. Exemptions were suggested for “dial a ride” and refuse collection vehicles (emptying litter bins etc).

Some of the strongest objections to the plan have come from people who actually live within the pedestrian area.

They describe the traditional 5:00pm end for the foot-streets hours as barely practical while a 7:00pm finish would problematic. One quotes an incident when an emergency plumber had to be summoned to deal with a raw sewage leak.

While the aim behind the Council plan – to deter terrorist activities – is laudable, we don’t believe that the consequences have been thought through.

There are technology systems available now which would allow the allocation in real time of designated kerbside spaces for accredited blue badge and essential repair vehicles.

Access routes and timings could be authorised using an online process with enforcement by ANPR cameras

105 Walmgate

NB The Council is likely to consider a “final mile” sustainable delivery solution for the City centre at its next meeting. The proposal could involve establishing a distribution hub from which final deliveries could be made by electric vehicles, bikes and trolleys. Details here The distribution Hub would be located at 105/107 Walmgate.

High Petergate replacement lighting column

The meeting will also consider whether to repair or replace a historic lamp column that has been damaged by vehicle collision.

It is thought to be the last remaining historical cast ornate columns of this nature in York city centre possibly even the wider York area

The Minster Gates lamppost has been in place for around 120 years.

The Council’s Conservation Officer says, “

The Minster Gates lamppost is an irreplaceable historic asset as a sole surviving example of early electric street furniture. If it was made in York it has additional significance. It contributes to the character and appearance of a site of the highest heritage sensitivity. Specialist assessment has confirmed that restoration of the lamppost is possible, but it is highly specialised and hence expensive. Every effort should be made to repair the existing fabric and reinstate the lamppost because replacement with an alternative design would not preserve the heritage values of the asset.

The meeting is being recommended to authorise the repair (rather than replacement) of the lighting column at a cost of £33,000. Some – possibly not all – of the cost would be recovered from the insurance policy of the vehicle responsible for the collision. The street light would be relocated a short distance to a less vulnerable position and would be protected by a bollard.

Council asks disabled residents for feedback on foot-streets extension

City of York Council is asking disabled people across York to let them know how city centre changes made in response to coronavirus have affected accessibility.

In June 2020 the council executive agreed to emergency measures to expand the number of pedestrianised ‘footstreets’, which now run for an extra three hours until 8pm, to allow more space for social distancing and for cafes and restaurants to take advantage of pavement trading.

“The actions are designed to support the council’s Economic Recovery – Transport and Place One Year Strategy, adopted by the Executive on 24 June 2020. This aims to build resident, visitor and stakeholder confidence that York is a safe, healthy and attractive place for everyone”.

Replacement blue badge parking has been added at different locations around the edges of the city centre, with more added this week*. A free taxi service – set to continue until at least 20 September – has been available between Monk Bar car park and St Andrewgate.

Most of the spaces reserved for the disabled at Monk Bar car park have not been used

The council want to hear from all disabled people in York, whether they use a blue badge or not, and any other residents who feel the footstreets extension has affected their ability to access the city centre.

The council wants to hear from disabled people, blue badge holders, carers and anyone else who feels the footstreets changes have affected the ease with which they can access the city centre.

The results of the engagement will:
1.    Provide ways to improve the existing alternative access arrangements
2.    Give the council’s Executive a full understanding of the impact of the footstreets extension and provide options to increase accessibility to the city centre if the extension continues.

With public gatherings difficult during the current restrictions, the council is using a survey approach – available online and hard copy – as well as talking to disabled groups across the city to reach their members.

The council is also scheduling an online workshop in Mid-September to explore the challenges.

You can join the conversation in a number of ways. You can fill in a survey by Monday 28 September at http://www.york.gov.uk/OBCAccess, A hard copy of the survey along with a freepost return address will also be included in the September edition of the council’s Our City publication, distributed to York households from 7 September.
If you are interested in taking part in an online workshop to explore the challenges around accessibility and footstreets and ideas please email OurBigConversation@york.gov.uk .

The changes

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Man fined £700 for misuse of blue badge in Duncombe Place

An investigation carried out by City of York Council has uncovered and successfully prosecuted a case of Blue Badge fraud in York city centre.

Christopher Wilson (aged 46 of Fox Howe, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough) was found misusing a family member’s Blue Badge in York.

Mr Wilson was seen by a Civil Enforcement Officer, parked on Duncombe Place, near York Minster in August 2019.

During the course of the investigation, conducted by Veritau, the council’s fraud investigation service, Mr Wilson was interviewed under caution and admitted that he was the driver of the vehicle displaying the Blue Badge.

He confirmed that the badge holder was not present at any point of the journey and was at home in Middlesbrough. Mr Wilson and his wife had driven to York that day for a social occasion and were running late for a restaurant reservation, when he decided to use the Blue Bade to park on yellow lines.

Mr Wilson was sentenced by York Magistrates on 28 January 2020 after pleading guilty by post and apologising for his actions. He received a fine and was ordered to pay court costs and victim surcharge, totaling £701.