To think that both my neighbours AND the council are BU?

[Cantsleep]

There is a disabled parking space a few doors down, it has been there since we moved in years ago and is used by the people who live there although the sign states it is for blue badge holders not just one specific badge holder.

A couple of times we have had to use this space when dcs have been unwell and we couldn't park near our house (no drive and there's a school across the road so gets very busy). On the two or three occasions we have done this the people who it 'belongs' to have screamed and shouted at us, left notes on the car and come round hammering on the door being threatening and telling us to never use the space again

They told us they had paid for the space and if we wanted to use a disabled space we should pay fifty pounds to the council like they did. We phoned the council, asked could we get a disabled space by our house and they said firstly it was nonsense that you pay for the space and secondly, no we couldn't as it had to be an adult in the household in need of the space so we could not get one for any of our four dcs who all have blue badges.

The council sent me an email confirming that the space was not paid for and that ANY blue badge holder could use it and I printed it off and put it through the neighbours door with a note saying that we could not get a space and would only use the one outside their house in an emergency. Couple of hours later they are hammering on the door again saying we are never ever to use it and if we do for our dcs and their father has to park further away and gets ill it will be our fault.
The council housing officer phoned during the day and said that she had had a complaint about us parking there and that we are not to as they applied for the space and think they own it so we should let them carry on believing that to avoid any problems!!!

I think the neighbours are being horrible as we have only used it in emergencies And I think the council are ridiculous only allowing adults to have a disabled space outside their house.

My friend has a disabled parking space painted (by the council, not himself!) outside his house for his son that has disabilities, and is a wheelchair user. Also, my neighbour has one, and it is their child that has disabilities, not any adults of the house. Your council seem to talking nonsense.

I have looked on the council website, it states that you can have a space for an adult bb holder who is the driver of the car or you can get one for a child 2-17 but the driver has to be the only person available to assist the disabled passenger. Whoever I spoke to was clearly wrong and I will be phoning them first thing on Monday morning.

I wonder what your neighbours would do if somebody else with a blue badge parked there?

If you are getting nowhere with council officers then definitely contact your local councillor/MP. This is exactly the kind of issue they are good at sorting out

What happens when the parking space is in front of a driveway? Just out of curiosity really, the house opposite my mum has a disabled parking bay in front of it's driveway. The owners only moved in a few months ago with the space already there and they do park in it. Would a blue badge holder be able to obstruct their driveway?

Good luck!!

Its I mean, not it's!

Go along to your to your MP's next surgery,

take all letters, A list of names and job titles of people you have spoken or corresponded with, what was said, your children's badges, photo's of the space, the road a busy times,

ask the MP to help you get an additional space,

Of course any badge holder can use the space, it would be impossible to allocate individual spaces on a public highway.

and try to find a way to move, somewhere you have a driveway, so you don't have this extra issue.

No, I was not being obtuse or difficult. All I said was that if the OP got her own disabled parking space and came home and found someone had parked in it, she would be the first one to get annoyed.

No you didn't. You said this: *I thought the person who applied for the space was the only one allowed to use it.

If your DCs are not entitled to a disabled parking space, then what makes you think you can use the one designated for another adult?

YABVU and entitled.*

Definitely age discrimination (children are unable to drive so automatically excluded) and disability discrimination (you are only allowed a space if your disability allows you to drive). Kick up a stink and get another space on your street.

So, according to worra's logic, unless you are bleeding to death, or missing limbs you shouldn't use disabled spaces...? My local Morrison's would be a bloodbath if this were the case, lots of disabled spaces there.

vtech read the thread. At that point worra didn't realise the op had blue badges.

I do wish Mumsnet could ban people who haven't read the whole thread!

FlapJackFlossie

That is not all you said.

I really think you need to have this one out with the council, big time. I think you need complete clarification on this of their position. Unless there is something amiss you are obviously in the right if your family have a blue badge too, you can park there anytume! I think if you are right (and sounds like ypu are) you also need to tell the council you sre being intimidated/harrassed and for the council to write to your neighbours with the facts.

Cut your leg off, OP. Then you'll be entitled to your own badge & to use the space.

The madness of bureaucracy & where it leads to...

OP did you keep the notes and letters that your neighbours left on your car (as evidence)

Unfortunately , alot of people ( especially older people. I'm not generalising here but I work with older people so I hear alot of their twaddle views and firmly held beliefs) don't believe that children have disabilities unless it's a very obvious physical sign.

"They hand BB out like sweets"
"My NDN has one and he isn't disabled"

And you're a QUALIFIED doctor Mr Bloggs Eh?

Just keep moaning and moaning at them, eventually they do anything to make you stop complaining.

Dont stop til you got that space.

Given the councils ineptitude, maybe the neighbours believe it is their space as they applied for it and that it means it is for only them?

If they asked for it then obviously someone in their household is disabled too?

What do they do if someone [you or whoever else] is parked in 'their' space? do they then have a job getting in/out? maybe that is why they have blown a gasket over this?

Yes, keep on at the council until they put another disabled space outside your home.

I'd approach your councillor and complain and insist they get the officials to sort their ruddy act out. If that doesn't work, your MP.

Your neighbours are clearly entirely unreasonable horrors but agree with the other poster that they may have been misled by the council and honestly believe it is their space,

Right so the housing officer woman is lazy and cowardly? Excellent. That is the type of person you can get to do what you want pretty easy.

Firstly - what do you want? Presumably your own disabled space. So you need to convince the woman that the easiest thing would be to provide you one.

I'd suggest phoning up, making it clear you are planning to complain about her to the councillor and asking why she can't make an excretion for your family.

Do the council offer that kind of thing?

Well...they do sound a bit shit

You can always ask.