Apply for a Disabled Parking Bay

The Council provides disabled parking bays within its controlled areas across the city, more information on these areas can be found on the interactive parking map. 

In addition, the Council has the authority to provide disabled parking bays outside residential addresses. Details on how to apply for one can be found below.

Applying for a new disabled parking bay

If you are a disabled badge holder and there is a vehicle registered at your address, you are entitled to apply for a disabled parking bay outside of your property.

Please contact your local social work office to make an application.

PLEASE NOTE:-

• Any property which has access to a driveway, garage, hard-standing area or lockup facility, will not qualify for a disabled parking bay.  
• The road outside of your residence must be an adopted (public) road. We are unable to install disabled parking bays on private parking areas. If a disabled parking bay is required within private parking areas please contact the factor, landlord or housing association.
• Any disabled parking bay installed would be advisory until such time as it is included within a future Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which would then make the bay enforceable for disabled badge holders only, providing the TRO is successfully implemented.  
• If no suitable location can be found, unfortunately the application would be declined.  An example of unsuitable locations would be if there are existing waiting/loading restrictions in place or if the location would impede the safe and efficient flow of traffic.  We will make every effort to provide a disabled parking bay close to your residence.

Please allow 20 working days from the submission of your application in order for the Council to assess it and respond.

Requesting an existing disabled parking bay to be re-painted

If the disabled parking bay outside of your property has faded and you believe it requires to be re-painted, please contact your local social work office to make an application. The process to be followed for a bay to be refurbished is the same as applying for a new disabled parking bay. This is because many of the qualifying criteria can change over time such as:

• Expiration of the qualifying blue badge
• The original applicant may no longer own a vehicle which is registered to the badge holder's address
• Off-road parking such as a driveway may have been constructed since the bay was originally installed

The above requirement ensures that all disabled bays which are installed/refreshed meet the qualifying criteria for a disabled parking bay and prevents the Council refreshing and then having to consider removing disabled bays at a later date because the applicant no longer meets the criteria.

Please Note:-

A site visit will be undertaken by a Council officer to establish whether the disabled parking bay requires to be re-painted or whether the bay is in suitable condition and does not require to be re-painted.

Please allow 20 working days from the submission of your new application in order for the Council to assess it and respond.

Reporting that a disabled parking bay is no longer required

If there is a disabled parking bay that is no longer required, please inform your local social work office so that this can be investigated. 

Due to the staff resources required and associated costs to arrange the permanent removal of disabled bays, each request would be assessed on a case-by-case basis and consideration would be given to let the bay fade naturally. 

Once disabled bays fade, I can advise that the process for applying for a bay to be refurbished is the same as applying for a new installation.

Someone keeps parking in my disabled parking bay

A disabled parking bay marked on the public road network can be used by any disabled badge holder. We are therefore unable to take any action when another disabled badge holder is parking in the disabled parking bay you applied for, however it may be worth directing them to this webpage so that they can apply for their own disabled parking bay.

Only enforceable disabled parking bays supported by a traffic regulation order (TRO) are signed by an upright sign in addition to the road markings, this allows parking attendants to distinguish between enforceable bays and advisory bays on street. If your disabled parking bay is currently ADVISORY (without an upright sign) and a person is regularly parking in it without displaying a disabled badge, they could be guilty of anti-social behaviour and the Council recommends that this matter is raised with local Police in order to establish if they are able to assist you with this matter.

Another alternative, if there is an ongoing dispute between neighbours for example, then Neighbourhoods, Regeneration and Sustainability department provides a Mediation Service that aims to help resolve ongoing disputes or conflicts between neighbours. Details of this service can be viewed on our website.

Enquiries to the service can be made by using an online form or contact our 24-hour helpline on 0800 027 3901.

If your disabled parking bay is enforceable and a person is regularly parking in it without displaying a disabled badge, please submit a "request for parking enforcement in your area".