A COUNCIL has seen an 80 per cent decrease in fines issued to people parking in disabled spots.

Darlington Council has given out 80 per cent less fines for non-Blue Badge holders parking in disabled parking bays in council car parks over the last 5 years.

The Blue Badge Scheme provides parking concessions for people with severe disabilities which make it difficult for them to use public transport or struggle to park close to their destinations.

A Penalty Charge Notice, a parking ticket and the type of fine non-badge holders get for taking up Blue Badge spots, is £90 but those who pay up within 14 days receive 50 per cent discount.

In 2019, just 70 fines were given out, bringing in £1,255 revenue for Darlington Council.

In June the same year, the council replaced its dedicated parking team with a new civic enforcement team, which has 14 community enforcement officers.

Community enforcement officers are also responsible for fly tipping, anti-social behaviour, litter, dog fouling, illegal parking and vehicles that are untaxed, dangerous or causing an obstruction or nuisance. However, fines were decreasing steadily across the five years.

At its peak during the period in 2015, 351 were given out, generating £6,005 extra for the council.

Money generated via fines, Darlington Council said, goes back into the work that officers do.

In a slight decrease the following year, £4,287 of income was generated with 318 fines handed out.

Losing £412 on the year prior, 2017 saw parking officials issue 262 fines.

The decrease continues in 2018 with 149 fines. This resulted in £2,837 revenue for the council.

The data suggests a number of these fines may have been successfully appealed, as the average amount per fine is around £13 to £19 across the five years.

“There could be several reasons why there has been a reduction in the number of fines issued for parking in a disabled bay,” a Darlington Council spokesperson said.

“The council no longer has a specific parking team, but this forms part of the duties carried out by our civic enforcement officers.

“Our civic enforcement officers patrol car parks daily and any money generated from fines supports the work of the civic enforcement team which issued them.

“If someone parks illegally in a disabled bay a PCN, a fine, would be issued as with any other parking offence.

"We haven’t had any reports of fraud in the past 12 months and we have robust processes in place to check applications before a blue badge is issued.”

Blue badge fraud is where a person uses a badge belonging to another person.

For example, a County Durham motorist recently pleaded guilty to misusing a person’s Blue Badge, whereby she used it to park in a disabled bay when the person it was issued for was not with her, and was fined £200.

Ceri Smith, Head of Policy and Campaign at disability equality charity Scope said: “Many disabled people, including those with invisible impairments, are unable to use shops and amenities unless they can park within a short distance.

“Every time someone dishonestly uses a blue badge space, even for a few minutes, they risk depriving someone who genuinely needs it.

"The police and councils need to do all they can to ensure they are serving their disabled residents by cracking down on this abuse."

While permits are thought to be used appropriately, The Northern Echo reported in December that Darlington is one of a third of councils to have no policy in place to tackle abuse.

For more information on Blue Badges, visit Darlington Council's website.