General Chat

My hubby has his green parking badge and gets the top rate of attendance allowance.

We live in our owned terraced house

It seems because we have a garage at the back of the house accessed via cul de sac entry that we park our car in that neighbours???? from way up the road think we dont need to park near to our house :-(

OH has limited walking ability and because the back garden is sloped he cant manage to get to and from the garage .

I get extremely fussed at the problem of access to our house that is safe for hubby. It seems that as I dont park permanently at the front of the house then neighbours think we dont need too.

I have looked into dropped kerb BUT its expensive and costs c£2000 even then am not sure neighbours would leave the necessary width to parallel park

SO it leaves maybe getting a disabled parking space but cant see what criteria that needs

having a disabled parking bay outside your house will not give you exclusive rights of ownership or for your sole use only ,,,,,,anyone displaying a blue badge can park there 24/7if they wish...they arent easy to get inplace as residental parking is taken into account and as you already have access to your property and do not have a need to leave your car on the public highway this maybe seen as good enough and it could then be advised you remedy it by improving the access you already have.

We can't alter the lay of the land at the back of the house,

It slopes down and has several steps from each layer to the next

I know that any disabled parking spot isn't exclusive but not being able to get near the house for hubby isn't safe for him either.

Maybe we will have to fork out for the dropped kerb :-(

http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/questions-and-answers/am-i-entitled-disabled-parking-bay-outside-my-house

"Parking bays for people with disabilities
Location of disabled parking bays
The provision of disabled bays is undertaken on the County Council’s behalf by local district or borough councils. Their websites may list the location of disabled bays in their area, or you may need to contact them to make an enquiry.

To request a disabled parking bay near your home
If you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to get to and from your car, you may qualify for a disabled parking bay outside or close to your home.

You are only likely to qualify if you hold a 'Blue Badge' disabled parking permit.

Disabled bays marked on the highway are not for the sole use of the applicant and can be used by any driver displaying a valid Blue Badge in their vehicle.

Generally disabled parking bays in residential areas are "advisory only" markings, so they are not legally enforceable. An enforceable disabled parking bay will have a legal Traffic Regulation Order applied to it and will have an accompanying sign stating ‘Disabled Badge Holders Only’.

More information about requesting a disabled bay near your home (see tab "Parking")"

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/trafficmanagement/tm-questions.htm

a dropped kerb.........
it is an offence to obstruct a dropped kerb,
I found that out the hard way, was delivering some dry cleaning and parking in between other cars, avoiding the double yellows,I partly obstructed a dropped kerb, the copper gave me a bit of a telling off, and although he saw my predicament.......I got a severe slapped wrist......

Have you asked whether you are entitled to get the dropped kerb at reduced rate because of the mobility issue?

Ask AgeUK if there is a local charity who could help out with the cost, or if one of the Dementia support networks can point you in the right direction.

If you can get it done, the council/highways agency might be willing to paint a white line in front of the 'drop' like this. It may not be enforcable in law, but would help to focus otherwise thoughtless actions

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Had you thought about inviting the annoying neighbour in and get your OH to demonstrate his difficulties??

Will a dropped curb incure more costs to have a hard standing for the car?

The local council dont charge as much as a private contractor.

Can you get someone in to look at the back area to see if more suitable improvements can be made,,,,,,ie, a hand rail, more flat walking area,?

We asked about a designated parking bay outside of our house, we were informed that our county council insists that: the car driver must be the disabled person and that they also need a wheelchair in order to get access to their vehicle.

If the disabled person is driven then they can be 'dropped off' whilst the driver finds somewhere to park. If the disabled person is the driver and is not reliant on a wheelchair 24/7 then they can park far away from their house and it's tough!

Luckily our neighbours ALWAYS leave our space for us.

Because hubby also has Alzheimer's he stopped driving two years ago when he was diagnosed and it became obvious he was no longer up to driving . He also has Lewy Body Dementia which gives Parkinson type problems . He shuffles with a walking stick and is very dodgy on his feet and does have falls .

He really cant manage to walk on his own safely and needs to have a steadying hand to escort him for even the shortest distance

He does go to the Dementia Day Care centre on a wed which is run by Age UK they pick him up in a minibus which has a helper to assist folks get on and off the bus which too is adapted for safety for folks .

Our garage is in the back garden but because of the lay of the land its not safe for him to attempt even if there was room to add hand rails . any slope he tilts forward from his top body as his legs cant keep up with the momentum .

Our front garden is open plan and flat and it is paved over and can take hard standing for a car . Neighbours three doors up had a dropped curb put in many moons ago and they say its the best thing they have done But then they have two cars so do park on their frontage with the second car.

As he now known to Age UK I will ask them for their advice. Thanks Folks :-)

Good luck, I hope you get a good outcome for you both x