Salford City Council has launched a scheme to make sure that Blue Badges users can park easily in the city.
A Blue Badge amnesty will run from Monday 28 October for two weeks and this allows residents the opportunity to hand over permits they are not entitled to. This might be a badge that belonged to a relative who has passed away.
People will be able to hand in the badges at council owned buildings, such as gateway centres, or post them back to Salford City Council with no questions asked.
From Monday 11 November, Salford City Council will start to check that Blue Badges being used in the city are correctly registered.
Those who continue to misuse blue badges risk being hit with a large fine and potential criminal record. Motorists who hand their badges in during the two week amnesty will have no further action taken against them.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety at Salford City Council said: “The Blue Badge scheme is vital for many people, providing them with access to special bays, resident only parking areas and parking on some single or double yellow lines, where they are not causing an obstruction. The scheme means that people can live independent lives.
“It is a national issue that a small minority of people use badges fraudulently. So we are following what other councils are doing and taking action to make it easier to park for our residents who have a genuine need.
“We are asking motorists not to use permits that don’t belong to them, have expired or are no longer required. We know that some people may not be aware that their badge has expired. It is important that you check and make use of the amnesty.
“Others will be aware that what they are doing is illegal. If you are using a Blue Badge fraudulently, I would urge you to take advantage of the amnesty and hand it in. If you fail to do so, we will be taking action against you.
“This move is welcomed by our residents and if anybody has information to help us target those using badges illegally they just need to make us aware and we will take action.”
The Salford Disability Forum said: “We’re really pleased to hear this campaign has started in Salford to help people with legitimate blue badges park. It will make a huge difference to the people who really need the scheme as it is an absolute lifeline. If those spaces are being taken by people who should not be there is affects us all.”
Enforcement offices will be in place across the city and people caught using badges illegally will be prosecuted.
People can report Blue Badge fraud at: https://www.salford.gov.uk/report-it/
