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Another unsuspecting blue badge holder has been issued a £100 fine after parking on Bolton market's car park. Bolton Council has again stressed that although there are disabled bays marked out on the car park - parking is not free. And say the authority has received a number of complaints about the issue.
The Bolton News reported last month that a pensioner has had to fork out almost £200 in parking fines after parking on Ashburner Street car park. Now Veronica Cunliffe, age 57, from Halliwell , who is a blue badge holder says she was issued a £100 fine by NCP after parking at the market on Thursday (October 10). READ MORE: Pensioner fined £200 for parking in Bolton town centre Bolton parking fines bring in over £1m for council Veronica suffers from bad legs, a bad back, asthma, arthritis in her spine and lymphedema in both of her legs which require her to wear compressions every four months.
Veronica also struggles with her mental health , which she alleges makes it challenging for her to leave the house. (Image: Veronica Cunliffe) She said she kept her blue badge on full display, with her parking fine arriving almost a month later Thursday (November 1). She said: “Since my mum died last year, my depression has been on the floor.
I struggle to leave the house and only manage to get a few hours outdoors per week. (Image: Leah Collins) “It was a challenge to get out – but I had an appointment I needed to get to. I thought I’d be brave and parked in the market.
I thought nothing of it as I was only away for less than an hour.” It was only when she received a letter in the post almost a month later that Veronica realised there had been an issue with her parking. She adds: “There wasn’t even a number for customer service on the letter, I had to find that myself which wouldn’t be very accessible for someone who isn’t computer literate.
(Image: Leah Collins) “I felt penalised for being a disabled person. I haven’t been out properly in twelve months, but I’ve parked there before with the blue badge on display and not received a fine. READ MORE: Pensioner fined £200 for parking in Bolton town centre Bolton Council motion to create new pensioner's winter fund Horwich Alpaca Centre to receive planning permission verdict “The alternative would be to park further away from the market, I can’t walk very far as my feet are in pain from my lymphedema.
I have to wear crocks all year round.” Veronica was advised that she is eligible to appeal the fine by sending an email to the NCP but claims that it was “unclear” how much time it would take for this to be processed. (Image: Leah Collins) Ms Cunliffe alleges that she is going to contact her local MP about the issue and appeal the fine.
She added: “They’ll have to beg me for it. I’m not going to pay the fine. They should not have disabled spaces if they’re going to tax us for them.
“I have already paid £10 for the Blue Badge. It feels too much that they’re trying to charge even more on top of that. “I don’t think it’s fair at all and I’m prepared for the backlash.
If it fails, they can take me to court.” A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “The Ashburner Street car park is ran by NCP and accepts payment by cash, card or via the app. “We’ve received a few complaints about blue badge users having to pay on the site as they thought it was free parking, which isn’t the case and there is signage which states this.
“It is free however for blue badge users to park in any pay and display on-street parking bay, as well as the disabled bays located in the town centre.” A spokesperson for NCP said: "We can confirm that blue badge holders do need to pay for their parking when parking at Ashburner Street. "They are allowed to use the disabled bays as long as they have displayed their blue badge permit, and they have paid for their parking.
"We can also confirm that there are four different ways to pay for their parking on this site. They can pay by cash or card, they can pay by phone, or they can pay by app. "There are two payment machines on site and one of those machines is very close to the disabled bays.
"Although blue badge holders do need to pay for their parking on this site, they are able to park at no cost in one of our 12 disabled bays provided on our Octagon surface site car park for up to three hours, as long as they display their blue badge permit." Got a story? Email me at Leah.Collins@newsquest.
co.uk.
