To have taken a 'reserved' disabled space?

[Edenviolet]

We had to go to the shops this aft and looked for a disabled space.there were none except for three with cones by them saying they were 'reserved for shop mobility customers'

Shop mobility is a service the shopping centre run mon-sat (closed every Sunday) so it seemed ridiculous they were reserving the spaces when they were shut.
As all the other disabled spaces were full I got out and moved the cones so dh could park in one of the spaces. I was tempted to move the other cones too to free up the other two spaces for anybody else needing them but dh said to leave it as the office for the service was opposite the spaces and opening times were clear to see for anybody else. As I was moving the cone someone beeped at us and shook their head but then drove off.

I am considering emailing shop mobility and asking them not to reserve spaces on a Sunday so that they can be used by people who need them. Obviously I wouldn't have moved the cones on a mon-sat but it seemed silly the spaces were not able to be used and had been reserved for a service that wasn't even operating today.

I still would have thought that even though in a private car park they are not enforceable somebody with a permanent disability and bb would have priority therefore the cones shouldn't be there and they should just have a sign up as like I said before a disabled person on their own may not be able to get out and move the cone to enable them to park.

While in principle I agree that they shouldn't put cones out and just have a sign, I am guessing that they have resorted to cones as people were not respecting the signs and parking there when not using shopmobility, even if other disabled spaces were available, meaning service users couldn't park.

If someone was on their own and wanting to use the space to access shopmobility, they could pull up and phone or honk their horn to alert staff to move the cone.

If it was blocked by bollards or similar, you wouldn't have had the option to be out and move the cone, only staff could do it. So I think it should count as a bonus that you could rather than thinking someone who can't move the cone is missing out.

And to be honest, I think it's a grey area whether someone with a bb trumps someone without in this particular instance. Generally people say that bb owners trump non bb owners because the non bb owner can choose from any of the other spaces, whereas the bb owner can only use those marked as disabled. (Not that it's illegal for them to park in a regular space, but a regular space is not suitable for them). In this case, a shop mobility customer who needs a wide space but doesn't have a bb only has 3 spaces to legitimately use, a bb owner has other bb spaces to choose from.

They also said that sometimes on a Sunday a member of staff may need to use them to go into the office???

I'd ask - Would that be a member of staff who needs to use a disabled space, or someone able-bodied who is too lazy to walk?

I'd have done the same as you OP, they've really no right to cone off those bb spaces when the Shopmobility office is closed all day, or outside the hours shopmobility operates.

They are not just a courtesy in a private car park - they are normally a requirement in planning. I'm not sure what can be done about the shopping centre effectively taking them out of use though. It may depend on whether they have the minimum number of space required by planning oor more.

The difference to public disabled spaces are that they are governed by law, whereas private parking disputes are a civil matter.

they are not just a courtesy, thats p&c spaces you are thinking of. BB spaces are covered by law.

yanbu I would have done the same
maybe contact the local council, they will have to have a certain amount of BB bays by law, they might be breaking this.
do they have P&C bays as well, if so they could use them without breaking the law, or taking away BB bays(which they have done if you don't need a BB to park there)

www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_cars_and_other_vehicles_e/consumer_driving_and_parking_e/consumer_parking_tickets_e/the_blue_badge_scheme_for_disabled_people_and_penalty_charge_notices.htm

if you park on private land... your blue badge may not give you any special permission to park

It's confusing because the enforcement of disabled spaces in a private car park is a civil matter, as is enforcement of P&C spaces. This is generally done as a form of contract (i.e. by parking you agree to the terms displayed in the car park). The requirement to provide disabled spaces is governed by the Disability Discrimination Act, and the department for transport gives guidance on the number of spaces required. It may be the case that the car park owner could be prosecuted under the Act if they don't ensure that the right number of disabled spaces are free to use.

No they're not covered by law on private land.
I provided a disabled space at my business. It's still my private land and I provide it as a courtesy to my visitors. I decide who parks there. No one comes on to my land to 'police' the space. It's the same at the car park.

You can be sued if you provide a disabled space on your private land and then park in it or let anyone who feels like it park in it. You could be civilly pursued under the Disability Discrimination Act.
So yes, just the same as a car park, because so can they.