Bolton Council to approve disabled parking bays at houses

This comes around just over two years after a motion was put to Bolton Council to allow people with disabilities to have markings like these right outside where they live.

Cllr Debbie Newall, of Kearsley, put the motion forward in June 2022 and says she hopes to see it become a reality with the council set to sign off the policy this week.

She said: “I’m really, really pleased, it’s taken two years, but it was something I’d had a query about from a resident about 18 months even before that about if there was anything we could do about disabled parking spaces.”

She added: “I’m really pleased because I know two years might seem like quite a long time but in town hall terms that’s actually quite quick.”

The idea is set to be signed off by Bolton Council (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Newall said that she put the motion after hearing about how a family in her community had struggled for parking spaces when taking their now grown adopted son out and home again.

She said: “It’s something very simple that will take a lot of stress out of the lives of people who are vulnerable.”

She added: “It not mandatory, its voluntary but it will make a major difference to people’s lives and it will send out a message that we care about families like these.”

The idea has been in development since Cllr Newall, supported by her then ward colleague Cllr Paul Heslop, put it forward as a motion to Bolton Council in June 2022.

Since then, it has been taken forward by a Policy Development Group.

Costs will include an initial marking fee of £150, a re- marking renewal fee of £100 and a marking removal fee of £250.

A Bolton Council report said: “Many of the streets in the borough consist of traditional terraced houses and the only parking available to residents is on street.

“Even in non-urban areas of the borough, we still have many properties that again only afford parking on the main road.

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“Common courtesy usually prevails when it comes to motorists parking outside a disabled resident’s home.

“However, there are an increasing number of disabled residents who are coming forward and vocalising how they struggle when motorists park outside their home resulting in the inconvenience in either parking their own car or being picked up/dropped off as a passenger.

“Many other councils in the UK now allow disabled residents to have markings outside their home to remind motorists of the fact that a particular space is there for a disabled person at that address.”

The policy will now go before the council's cabinet member for transport, housing and highways Cllr Hamid Khurram for approval at a meeting on Wednesday August 21.