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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think Blue Badge holders can use parent and child spaces?

210 replies

winterwonder1 · 30/06/2026 16:29

This article says that Blue Badge holders can't park in P&C spaces but I thought they could and that they were a legal requirement whereas P&C was a courtesy? Have I been wrong all these years? Can Blue Badge holders park in parent and child spaces? | Oxford Mail

Blue Badge parking warning for parent and child spaces as fines issued

Blue Badge holders have been fined for parking in some parent and child bays, in one of the most misunderstood rules in UK car parks

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/26241069.can-blue-badge-holders-park-parent-child-spaces/

OP posts:
ofcolitas · 30/06/2026 16:30

Anyone can really. They shouldn't though, they should leave them for parents with children.

Chunkyblacklab · 30/06/2026 16:30

Yes, if they are a disabled parent with a child. Otherwise they technically can in the sense that anyone can because they aren't legally protected, but they aren't interchangeable.

Londonrach1 · 30/06/2026 16:31

Of course they can.

emuloc · 30/06/2026 16:31

I have, and do use a p&c space, if the disabled bays are full.

Nomorefcukstogive · 30/06/2026 16:32

If you live where I live the P&C spaces are actually for men with no children in the car and taxi drivers (cunts).

I was under the impression people can park there with a disabled badge however as someone pointed out about they unfortunately are not protected spaces anyway

caffelattetogo · 30/06/2026 16:33

Glad if it’s being clarified TBH but ours is usually full of men in vans with neither kids nor blue badges.

AmberUser · 30/06/2026 16:33

If there aren't any disabled spaces, what are people meant to do?

winterwonder1 · 30/06/2026 16:34

Sorry, obviously parents with blue badges can use them, but this is saying that people with blue badges but no children are not covered.

OP posts:
emuloc · 30/06/2026 16:37

Oh well, I have parked in them with no children, and nothing has come of it so...

Elieza · 30/06/2026 16:37

im going to start as we parked in a regular space as the disabled ones were full, and my mum struggled to walk the distance and couldnt get the passenger door open enough to shuffle back into the car easily.

so im afraid i dont have a choice, im going to have to park somewhere nearer the store with a wide corridor between us and the next car and obviously ensure the disabled badge is prominently displayed. looks like the parent and child one will have to do.

i could drop her off and park half a mile up the car park but then she’d be alone and has a history of falls and i wont be there to catch her….

they need more disabled spaces.

takeharry · 30/06/2026 16:40

Yes. The end. This has been done to death on here…

BirdLandedonmyHead · 30/06/2026 16:43

Morally... yes.
Legally... Private landowners can set their own terms and conditions for their car parks. For example, Meadowhall shopping centre you need a pass to park in the Parent car parking spaces, and you need to produce evidence to get the pass.

emuloc · 30/06/2026 16:44

I agree with the poster about needing more disabled parking spaces. Where I live there is just not enough, in the local town centre car parks, especially.

ConverselyAttired · 30/06/2026 16:46

I wish they'd stop putting the P&C spaces right next to the door. I want them for the width, not the location.

Jan24680 · 30/06/2026 16:46

Don't be silly, the parent and child spaces are for the husbands of the married single mothers while on babysitting duties. You know while the married single mothers do their shopping.

Brunchatstephanies · 30/06/2026 16:47

P+C spaces are courtesy and are not designated in the same way as disabled parking.

You would want to be a cunt of the highest order with serious entitlement issues not to recognise that some people with disabilities have a higher need than P+C for those spaces if the disabled bays are in use but the world is full of all sorts I guess.

Cobrakainerd · 30/06/2026 16:47

It depends which is closest to the buildings. Disabled, particularly physically need easy access to the store as well as access to cars. Parents just need easy access to their car.
Supermarkets are cynical and often put P&C near the door as it appeals to families. Families spend more overall.

walrushurricane · 30/06/2026 16:55

They are on private land so technically you could be fined. I would be surprised if any supermarket does though. It doesn't seem like a very good PR move as it demonstrates that they don't have enough disabled spaces. I never get why parent and child spaces are close to the door anyway.

Sirzy · 30/06/2026 16:55

I don’t think blue badge legally covers parking in them BUT reasonable adjustment very much does whether with a child or not. A parking company would be stupid to try to enforce a fine because I would be on very risky grounds in that sense.

there are some places I go where the P and C spaces are much better positioned for the safety of ds (16) than the blue badge spaces are so I will always go for them if one is free.

Honeyhonayboo · 30/06/2026 16:57

They are private car parks, there’s no law that says a disabled badge has priority over what the space is intended for whether that’s parent and child spaces, drop off spaces, or e charging.

hyggetyggedotorg · 30/06/2026 16:58

You can park anywhere that is safe & legal with a blue badge can’t you? A P&C space is neither unsafe nor illegal.

caffelattetogo · 30/06/2026 17:07

Seems safe and legal only applies to council land or the public highway, not private car parks.

AnonyMumAuDHD · 30/06/2026 17:26

winterwonder1 · 30/06/2026 16:34

Sorry, obviously parents with blue badges can use them, but this is saying that people with blue badges but no children are not covered.

There are usually loads of disabled spaces free and rarely enough P&C spaces, so I put that you are BU. If you have a blue badge, park in the disabled zone.

Less than 5% of the population have blue badges, equivalent to the 6% of parking spaces available; 26% of households have a child under 12 - far more than the 5% minimum (but up to 10%) of spaces allocated for parents with children.

So no, blue badge holders should use the disabled spaces and leave the P&Cs for Ps with Cs. [We have a blue badge for a family member. I would never use it to park in the P&C zone.]

Tabarnak · 30/06/2026 17:27

Only a complete tosser would fine a disabled person for using a P&C place if all the disabled spaces are full.

IMO.

TigerRag · 30/06/2026 17:29

AnonyMumAuDHD · 30/06/2026 17:26

There are usually loads of disabled spaces free and rarely enough P&C spaces, so I put that you are BU. If you have a blue badge, park in the disabled zone.

Less than 5% of the population have blue badges, equivalent to the 6% of parking spaces available; 26% of households have a child under 12 - far more than the 5% minimum (but up to 10%) of spaces allocated for parents with children.

So no, blue badge holders should use the disabled spaces and leave the P&Cs for Ps with Cs. [We have a blue badge for a family member. I would never use it to park in the P&C zone.]

Where are these mythical loads of disabled spaces? We usually find there's plenty of free parent and child spaces but not disabled spaces

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