A disabled man with one arm has been told he can only qualify for a parking permit if he loses ‘another arm or a leg’.
Middlesbrough Council said Roy Sowerby, 58, would no longer be eligible for a Blue Badge under new guidelines from the Department for Transport.
Mr Sowerby is registered disabled after losing his arm in an industrial accident 11 years ago and now drives an automatic car. He has held a parking permit for the past three years.
‘I’d like the council to tell me how I am not disabled,’ Mr Sowerby told Gazette Live.
‘They said if I lost another arm or a leg then I would qualify for one. So do I have to cut off my legs or my arm or my head to qualify for one? They said I can’t have one because I can carry a bag but I can’t carry anything bulky or heavy or big.’
Government reforms to the Blue Badge scheme were introduced in 2012. Middlesbrough Council said current requirements meant applicants would only qualify if they had ‘a severe disability in both arms or a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking’.
‘The criteria for eligibility in the first instance are that the applicant has a severe disability in both arms, regularly drives an adapted or non-adapted motor vehicle regularly, and also considerable difficulty in operating parking meters,’ the local authority said.
‘To qualify for a Blue Badge all three criteria must be met. The DfT states that “in no circumstances should anyone who does not satisfy all three of the conditions set out above receive a badge”.’
‘The guidance adds that “in particular, a badge should not be issued to a person who travels solely as a passenger or a person who has difficulty carrying parcels, shopping or other heavy objects such as luggage”.’