Vehicle finance provider Moneybarn analysed data from 41* local council areas in England to discover which areas had the most and least parking violations from vehicles parked in disabled bays, plus the percentage of these that were cancelled.
Motorists may be issued a parking fine if a parking attendant didn’t see the right documentation (Blue Badge) displayed correctly.
This research comes in the wake of a recent study showing over 60% of local authorities in England failed to take action against drivers misusing blue-badge parking permits.
The data reveals that the London Borough of Newham is the nation’s biggest disabled parking violations offender, racking up over 12,000 recorded violations over a two-year period.
| Top 10/Bottom 10 areas by no. of disabled parking violations | ||||
| Area | No. of fines | # | Area | No. of fines |
| Newham | 12,080 | 1 | Norfolk | 50 |
| Nottingham | 11,461 | 2 | South Staffordshire | 166 |
| Barnet | 9,359 | 3 | Richmond | 322 |
| Northamptonshire | 8,590 | 4 | Stockton on Tees | 391 |
| Southwark | 7,320 | 5 | Lincolnshire | 634 |
| Nottinghamshire | 6,338 | 6 | Southend | 988 |
| Durham | 6,182 | 7 | Redcar and Cleveland | 1,211 |
| Haringey | 5,438 | 8 | Royal Borough of Greenwich | 1,288 |
| Cheshire West | 5,255 | 9 | Wokingham | 1,356 |
| Barking & Dagenham / Camden | 5,083 | 10 | Bexley | 1,476 |
Nottingham City Council and Barnet Council followed in second and third place, receiving 11,461 and 9,359 disabled parking fines respectively. However, London dominates the rankings, with six boroughs featuring in the top 10.
Norfolk County Council tops the list of council areas with the lowest number of disabled parking offences, registering just fifty fines over a two-year period.
South Staffordshire and Richmond follow in second and third place respectively, receiving 166 and 322 fines each.
Moneybarn also reveals, on average, less than half (48%) of disabled parking fines across the country were actually paid, with Medway boasting the lowest percentage of paid fines, at just 40%. In contrast, Shropshire paid the most fines, with 73% paid in full.
Finally, Moneybarn analysed which areas have the most cancelled fines. Bristol tops the table for cancelled fines, with over a third of all fines issued ultimately cancelled. Poole, Cambridgeshire, Richmond and Norfolk complete the top five.
| Area | Highest % of cancelled fines | # | Area | Lowest % of cancelled fines |
| Bristol | 34% | 1 | Wokingham | 1% |
| Poole | 29% | 2 | Lincolnshire | 2% |
| Cambridgeshire | 26% | 3 | Reading | 3% |
| Richmond | 24% | 4 | Barking & Dagenham | 5% |
| Norfolk | 22% | 5 | Camden | 5% |
Wokingham issued the lowest number of cancelled fines with just 1% of disabled parking fines voided. Lincolnshire (2%), Reading (3%), Barking and Dagenham (5%) and Camden (5%) complete the bottom five councils with the least cancelled fines.
Reasons drivers may receive a ticket incorrectly include:
- A CCTV camera didn’t pick up your badge.
- You couldn’t get back to your car in time due to mobility problems.
- A parking attendant thought you displayed your Blue Badge incorrectly, or didn’t see it
- You broke parking rules by mistake (i.e.: a disability made it hard for you to understand the rules)
It’s worth appealing a parking ticket if you believe you were parked correctly, or if you received a ticket because of a mobility problem. However, the final decision is up to the discretion of the council, if they believe the fine was issued incorrectly or not.
Tim Schwarz, Head of Marketing at Moneybarn, commented on the findings:
““It’s vital disabled parking bays are kept free for those who need them. That said, if you feel like you have been issued a fine incorrectly, follow the appeal process issued by your council and ensure you have the correct information and documents to hand.”