Supermarkets urged to enforce disabled parking bay rules

Supermarkets are not doing enough to enforce Blue Badge parking rules, according to a leading charity for disabled drivers and passengers.

Supermarkets lose £501 million every month due to not being accessible, according to Disabled Motoring UK, with 75 per cent of disabled people and their families saying they have been forced to leave at least once because of poor accessibility.

The charity has launched a national campaign - called Baywatch - to put pressure on supermarkets to improve the enforcement of their disabled parking spaces.

“It’s time that supermarkets took the needs of their disabled customers seriously and that starts in their car parks..."

The charity is asking members of the public to survey their local supermarket car park over the month of June. The survey asks people to count how many disabled bays are provided and how many cars that are parked in them without displaying a Blue Badge.

The charity also wants to know the details of the type of enforcement (if any) carried out by the parking operator responsible for the car park (usually displayed on the signage near the disabled bays).

New rules around Blue Badges are being introduced on 30 August 2019 and will see people with hidden disabilities being given the right to park in disabled spaces. These include those with mental health conditions and autism, for whom parking in a busy environment can cause an overwhelming amount of stress.

Heidi Turner, communications and campaigns director at Disabled Motoring UK, said: “It’s time that supermarkets took the needs of their disabled customers seriously and that starts in their car parks.

"This campaign relies on public participation and we hope their support will encourage others to get involved.”