Campaigner Questions Council On Loss Of Disabled Parking Spaces During Events

A disability rights campaigner asked councillors to rethink the loss of blue badge parking spaces during events on Brighton seafront.

Pippa Hodge, co-founder of Brighton Access for Disabled Groups Everywhere (BADGE), raised the issue at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting at Hove Town Hall.

She spoke out as councillors prepared to decide whether to grant landlord’s consent, in principle, for 18 events in Madeira Drive next year.

At the council’s Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Economic Development Committee meeting yesterday (Thursday 14 September), Ms Hodge said that she recognised that events in Madeira Drive boosted the local economy.

But, she said, blue badge holders were left feeling “unwelcome and kept apart”, giving the closures this year as an example.

She said:

“Closures disproportionately impact disabled access – 27 high-demand disabled bays were lost across 16 weekends, including whole weekends, this year.

“So disabled people needing blue badge parking are blocked off from every event plus local attractions. BADGE raised this back in January.

“Will Brighton and Hove City Council as landlord create an events disability parking and access strategy to meet the protected parking needs of disabled people and fulfil your public sector equality duty?”

Ms Hodge said that BADGE was concerned that the impact of the “wholesale loss” of disabled parking and access during the various weekends when the road was closed for events had not been included in the relevant section of a report to the committee about the equalities implications.

She said:

“This infers that it wasn’t considered or wasn’t considered important to the committee’s discussions, directions and decisions.

“Do you think that reports would be improved by a requirement to complete an early draft equality impact assessment document to encourage council officers to proactively consider projects through the lens of our accessible city strategy?”

After speaking with BADGE last year, the committee chair, Labour councillor Alan Robins, said that the outdoor events team had trialled methods to reduce the impact of lost blue badge spaces.

Councillor Robins said that public safety meant that the road had to close during events.

But next year, during the set up and take down – or blind and break days – there would be a managed system with signs to allow access to blue badge holders.

Councillor Robins offered to join the events team and BADGE on the seafront to look at what could be done to ensure the maximum number of blue badge bays were available.

He said:

“It’s really important to me and to the whole administration that we get this right to help you and all the members of the BADGE team.

“I am really sorry if it (the equalities impact assessment) is something we have overlooked and I will try my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that you are one of the first considerations that we make.”

Outside the meeting, Ms Hodge said:

“Oversights like not mentioning the total loss of 27 disabled bays during events shouldn’t happen when a council report has a dedicated ‘equalities implications’ section.

“This highlights the need for a more rigorous approach. If all reports had to have an equality impact assessment attached, even if the content shows there are no concerns at all, it would be a stronger approach that would ensure both the council and councillors pay closer attention to equalities and groups with protected characteristics.”

Council outdoor events manager Ian Baird said that the events team would work with event producers on accessible parking to find solutions so that the maximum number of spaces could be available.

And that these assessments would be required as part of events traffic management schemes.