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There is no charge for installing a disabled parking bay.

First check that you meet the criteria:

• You are a Blue Badge holder.
• You do not have any usable off-street parking such as a driveway or garage.
• There is a vehicle registered and kept at your address.
• You do not live in a private road (as we can only install bays on the public highway).
• It is also important that there are no existing parking controls (such as yellow lines or parking bays) where you want the bay to be. You can still apply for a bay if this is the case, but the process will need to be different and likely to take much longer. Please see how long will the process take section below for more information.

If your road already has a disabled parking bay, you can still apply and we will check if there is a suitable location for another bay in the road.

Please note that as part of the application, we will ask you to send us a copy of both the front and back of your Blue Badge and a copy of the vehicle registration document (V5C), or proof of a Motability vehicle, clearly showing your address. If adding screenshots or photographs of required documentation, please ensure that every page is included and all the information is clearly visible. Once we have received your application, we will carry out a site visit to see if there is a suitable location for the bay.

If you are unable to complete the online form, please contact us and we will send you a paper version, which you can complete and return by post. We will still need you to send us copies of the appropriate documents, when you return the form.

How long does the process take?

Rather than order the installation of new bays or repainting of existing bays individually, we batch them together in larger orders. These are sent to our contractors approximately every three months. We aim to place an order with our contractor within four months of approving an application. However, the contractor then has to programme the order into their work schedule and carry out the work, so the whole process between application and installation can take up to six months.

If we receive an application for a bay to be provided within an area where formal parking controls already exist (such as yellow lines or parking bays) we will process the request through our parking review process. This is because we will need to amend the traffic regulation orders (legal documents that create formal parking controls) for that area. This process could take up to 18 months. If you are not sure, you can check to see if there are formal parking controls where you want the bay by using our interactive maps of parking restrictions.

To ask for a disabled bay to be repainted, we still need to check that you meet the criteria. This means you need to follow the same process as if you were applying for a new bay by filling in the online application form and providing us with copies of the required documents:

to be repainted

How long does the process take?

Rather than order the installation of new bays or repainting of existing bays individually, we batch them together in larger orders. These are sent to our contractors approximately every three months. We aim to place an order with our contractor within four months of approving an application. However, the contractor then has to programme the order into their work schedule and carry out the work, so the whole process between application to installation can take up to six months.

If there is a disabled bay that is no longer required (for example because the disabled resident has moved) then please use our online reporting form:

Select the location of the bay, go to Parking, and then select Disabled parking bay no longer used. You will need to tell us precisely where the disabled bay is and why it is no longer required.

We will confirm that this information is accurate and send a letter to nearby residents to find out if any of them require the bay. If the bay isn't needed, we will arrange to remove the markings.

When will the bay be removed?

This will depend on whether the disabled bay is 'advisory' or 'mandatory'.

As mentioned above, advisory bays have no legal standing (it's inconsiderate, but not illegal, to park there without a blue badge), and the markings are usually removed within 6 months.

Mandatory bays are legally enforceable (meaning it's illegal to park in them without a blue badge). Their removal, as well as installation, requires changes to the traffic regulation orders (legal documents that make the bays enforceable) and we make changes to them as part of a parking review. As this is a lengthy process, mandatory bays may take much longer to remove.

You can find out if a disabled bay is mandatory or not by seeing if it appears on our separate interactive maps of parking restrictions.

We can only make disabled parking bays enforceable during a parking review. Reviews are carried out about every 12 to 18 months. We will look at your request, but our decision will depend on the location and other parking controls in the area.

To submit a request to change a disabled bay to enforceable, visit our parking review page.

If a car is parked in an enforceable bay, without a Blue Badge displayed, please report it using our . Select the location of the bay, go to Parking, and then select Disabled parking bay - misuse. Our parking enforcement team (subject to resources) may issue a penalty charge notice (parking fine) to the vehicle.