Blue Badge clampdown in City Centre is a success

Civil Enforcement Officers at Worcester City Council have completed a week-long operation as part of a county-wide crackdown on the misuse of disabled persons’ Blue Badges in the City Centre.

With an estimated three million Blue Badges issued in England and Wales and close to 10,000 badges issued in Worcestershire alone, demand for parking in disabled bays is high.

Between September 23 and 29 the City Council team inspected a total of 163 badges displayed by drivers parking in the City Council’s 16 car parks and at busy on-street Blue Badge bays in city centre locations including the ones at The Cross, The Cornmarket, The Trinity and Trinity Street.

The crackdown showed that past work to prevent the misuse of Blue Badges has been successful, with just four being seized because they were out of date and another being confiscated because it was not being used correctly. In all five cases the badges have been returned to the council that issued them, so that appropriate action can be taken.

Blue Badge misuse is a serious offence which can result in a maximum fine of £1,000, as well as withdrawal of the badge.

Andy Chinn, Parking Manager for Worcester City Council said: “It’s very pleasing to see so few badges being misused in our city. This shows that previous clampdowns and the on-going work we do year-round has been successful in getting the message across.

“In fact, our officers received many complimentary comments from badge holders who were delighted that Worcester City Council was checking Blue Badges for mis-use.”