A RESIDENT who is a Blue Badge holder has complained about the location of parking meters in Melksham car parks and the impact this has on people with disabilities.
Vicky Gingell, who gave the example of parking recently in the town’s Church Street car park, says that having to walk between parking meters to pay for parking is ‘problematic.’
This follows a recent decision by Wiltshire Council that Blue Badge holders must pay for parking, despite campaigning for the decision to be reversed by councillors and disabled people.
“With reference to Blue Badge holders having to pay for parking, this is not a problem for me,” explained Vicky. “What is a problem, is having to walk the distances to the pay machines, which in Church Street car park, are often out of order. By the time I’ve walked between machines with my rollator, I’m already uncomfortable. I always pay in cash and don’t want to use my mobile to get in touch with the parking office.”
Vicky’s complaint follows recent reports of problems caused for disabled people having to physically get to parking machines to buy a ticket, when the machines are often in a different part of the car park from disabled parking bays.
It was revealed in 2022 by cllr Jon Hubbard that Wiltshire Council are looking into implementing new parking meters in the county. Melksham town councillors pressed the authority about the need to consider the placement of parking meters for those with mobility needs.
Following Vicky’s complaint, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, cllr Nick Holder says, “We recognise that some blue badge holders can face physical challenges on a daily basis and in response to this, we are reviewing the current location of all our machines to ensure ease of use for those users with mobility issues and ahead of the installation of new parking machines. As a result, the parking machine in Church Street car park in Melksham will be relocated closer to the blue badge bay.
“New parking machines are being rolled out in Wiltshire Council car parks across the county from June. The new payment machines are part of the council’s machine replacement programme and will offer customers much more choice when paying for parking. The new machines will help meet the changing needs of customers by offering the option to also pay by cash and contactless card, including mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
“However, we do encourage people to use our MiPermit phone App which is quick and simple to use. All calls to MiPermit are charged at a local rate.”
Under the new parking rules, Blue Badge holders are entitled to a one-hour free grace period. However, last year, residents hit out at Wiltshire Council complaining the signs on the parking meters informing them of the new scheme were ‘too small’ and ‘difficult to spot.’
