Rotherham Council acts after blue badge complaints

Judith Badger, RMBC finance and customer services director, announced today (Monday) that people reapplying for permits can continue using their previous badge until a decision is made.

The authority says most of the problems — leading to waits of up to 12 weeks  — are because of changes brought in by the Government.

But there has also been criticism of Rotherham Council’s move towards an online-only application process.

Mrs Badger said: “We are aware that a number of people are having difficulty since the Government changed the blue badge scheme on August 30. 

“We recommend that people reapply three months before their badge expires as the Government has advised that it can take up to 12 weeks for an award decision to be made.

“With this in mind we have taken the decision that, as long as a person has reapplied for a blue badge before their current one expired, they can continue using their existing badge at on–street locations and car parks operated and managed by Rotherham Council, until they either receive a new one or they are informed that their reapplication has not been successful."

This exemption does not apply in parking locations operated by private business owners who set their own parking rules and could still enforce charges for outdated blue badges.

More advice is available from the council's website.