Disabled man must wait six years for parking bay (From Barry And District News)

Disabled man must wait six years for parking bay

A DISABLED man from Barry has been told by the Vale of Glamorgan Council that he must wait up to six years for a disabled parking bay outside his home.

Mark Davies, of Evelyn Street, is a double amputee and needs help to get from his home to his car.

He applied to the local authority for a disabled parking bay because it is difficult to find spaces in his street.

He said: "Since the council changed the opening time of the multi-storey car park it has made it very difficult to park in my street.

"It is ridiculous that I have to wait this long. There are 41 people on the list before me, but the problem is that it is done on a first come first served basis, and not based on your disability.

"A bay would mean I would have independence. It is very difficult to get from my car to the house, especially during the evening.

"Often I have to ring someone in the house from my mobile to help me get from the car into the house."

A council spokesman said: "The council has a backlog of more than 40 requests for disabled parking bays and is only able to provide around six each year due to the cost involved in installing the bays and removing them on occasions when the disabled person moves house.

"It is, therefore, quite likely that, under the current system, Mr Davies will have to wait up to six years for a bay to be installed outside his home.

"However, a report will soon be presented to the council's cabinet asking it to consider a change in the way requests are dealt with so that people with the greatest need receive a bay first.

"If these changes are implemented, Mr Davies may find that his request can be dealt with sooner."