Personalised disabled bay eligibility criteria

Criteria for a Personalised Disabled Bay

To qualify for a personalised disabled bay, you must meet all the relevant eligibility criteria.

To ensure an applicant receives a fair hearing, the criteria is split into individual and environmental criteria. This will facilitate a more comprehensive review of the individual needs and the road environment.

This approach will enable the council to advise applicants whether their application has been rejected based on their individual situation, or because there is simply no reasonable location for a Personalised Disabled Bay to be located.

Applications must be made by one blue badge holder per household. We do not accept multiple or combined applications for the same household.

If your property has been allocated an off-street bay then you will not be able to apply for an on-street personalised disabled bay.

Documents you must provide

Full valid UK driving licence - registered to the Applicant / Nominated Driver at the Applicant's address.
Blue badge - must be valid for more than 6 months (please supply both sides of the badge).
Council Tax statement – applicant  and/or nominated driver at the same address (classed as a non-dependant must be shown on the council tax/benefits) - must be dated last 12 months.
Full UK vehicle registration certificate (V5C) or mobility vehicle agreement – registered to the Applicant and/or nominated driver at the Applicant's address.
Tenancy Agreement (more than 12 months), Lease holder Agreement or Freeholder Agreement – name of applicant and/or nominated driver at the address.
Where the holder of a valid disabled persons badge is not the driver of a vehicle, you will need to provide supporting evidence to show that your nominated driver finds it difficult to manually handle, carry, push or pull any essential medical equipment required for the blue badge holder (such as an oxygen tank or ventilator). A walking frame, stand or wheelchair are not considered essential medical equipment, as the nominated driver can manually handle, carry, push or pull these items.
You must provide one of the following (dated last 12 months):

Proof of Higher Rate of Disability Living Allowance – Mobility Component (DLA)
Proof of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – you must have a score of 12 points for the moving around component.
Proof of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - you must have a score 10 points specifically for 'Descriptor E' (under the planning and following journeys) on the grounds that you cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant (passenger - hidden disability).

If you are unable to provide all of the above documents then we will not be able to process your application.

Individual Criteria

Where the driver of a vehicle is also the badge holder, they need to:

Permanently or primarily resides at the address for which the personalised disabled bay is required.
Provide all the evidence in the document section above.

Passengers will not normally qualify as a driver is expected to park as necessary to assist the disabled passenger to their home and move the vehicle afterwards. Although this may entail short-term obstruction of the highway, this is considered necessary and is therefore unlikely to be considered to be a contravention. 

Where the holder of a valid disabled persons badge is not the driver of a vehicle, they need to:

Permanently lives at the same address as the blue badge holder.
There are no spaces within 50 metres of the nearest door of the property where the blue badge holder could be dropped, allowing the driver to relocate the vehicle later.
You must provide all the evidence in the document section above.

Hidden Disabilities

Permanently lives at the same address as the nominated driver.
It is essential that the applicant shows how a hidden disability limits or restricts mobility (from expert assessor). We are only able to accept supporting evidence from one of the following expert assesors:
Clinical Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, Neurologist, Psychiatrist & Gastroenterologist - must be dated in the last 12 months.
Passengers must receive the following:
- Proof of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - passengers must have a score 10 points specifically for 'Descriptor E' (under the planning and following journeys) on the grounds that they cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant.
You must provide all the evidence in points 1-6 in the document section above and descriptor E (point 7).

Environmental Criteria

In all cases, each of the following criteria must be met:

a) There are no off-street, traffic management order estate, garage or car park parking spaces.
b) The ability to create a parking space (on a public highway) within the boundary or on any land or within any outbuilding or garage, which is within the control of the applicant, and is within 50 metres of the nearest door to the property (front or back).
An off-street or car park parking space shall be taken to include any space which a council officer identifies as it is the social landlord (which include Tower Hamlets Housing bays which were previously managed by Tower Hamlets Homes), private landlord or managing agent’s responsibility to provide you with a parking space.
Parking Stress is 90% or above, if spaces are available within 50 metres of the property (front or back entrance) during controlled parking zone times.

To help make a decision on whether to approve or reject an application, and to identify possible locations for the personalised disabled bay, the council may undertake a site survey to consider if:

Layout of the road, crossing points, incline or decline, surfacing materials and lighting.
Any other local conditions which may help the council decide whether an application could be approved.

Car-free development

A car-free property is a home which has been built without a car park space. The responsibility falls on the Owner(s), and not on the Local Authority to provide Blue Badge holders parking. If you are an occupant of the development and a blue badge holder you can apply for a on street-parking permit (residents). There is no responsibility for a highway authority (parking team) to provide a Blue Badge holder an on-street Personalised Disabled Bay in a car free development.

Parking Capacity

It is important to understand the wider parking capacity and whether a reserved space would cause significant disruption to other road users. An example could be in an area where more than one Personalised Disabled Bay is already in place, and any additional spaces could impact on other residents or businesses. In these circumstances, the council would consider whether a ‘General Use Disabled Bays’ would be more appropriate.

Local conditions criteria

In some circumstances, local conditions may result in an application being rejected. The council retains the right to apply judgement in circumstances which would also include the above environmental criteria.

These could include, but are not limited to, the following:

The nature of the road and footway being such that crossing would be made more difficult for the badge holder, for example a steep incline or lack of street lighting and distance to the bay.

Where the holder of a valid disabled persons badge is not the driver of a vehicle and the driver of the vehicle is unable to safely set down the badge holder and park further away. This may be due to their age or it would not be possible for the badge holder to be left unattended for any duration.

Mobility Assessment

An mobility assessment will be undertaken by an expert assessor. They will be independent of the council and provide a final report on the applicant, based on the criteria. Their final recommendation will be taken into consideration by the council.