Parking for Blue Badge Holders
The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for people who experience the greatest barriers to their mobility when seeking to access facilities.
Where can Blue Badge holders park?
Off-Street Parking
- Blue Badge holders in vehicles displaying their valid Blue Badge may park for free in Ceredigion County Council's Pay and Display Car Parks.
On-Street Parking
- Blue Badge holders may park on single or double yellow lines for up to 3 hours if it is safe to do so and does not cause an obstruction, but not where there are restrictions on loading or unloading – indicated by yellow kerb dashes and / or signs on plates
- Blue Badge holders may park wherever there are specified disabled parking spaces designated on the public highway.
Where not to park
The Blue Badge is not a licence to park anywhere.
Drivers must not park at the following:
- Places where a ban on loading and unloading is in force
- In parking places reserved for specific for specific users e.g. permit holders only, loading bays, parking places for taxis etc.
- Pedestrian crossings, including Zebra, Pelican, Toucan and Puffin crossings, and areas marked by zig-zag lines
- On any clearway
- On school ‘Keep Clear’ markings during the hours shown on a yellow no-stopping plate
- Other ‘Keep Clear’ markings where vehicles must not park at any time e.g. where emergency vehicles require access, vehicles such as doctors, taxis and other emergency vehicles
- Where there are double white lines in the centre of the road, even if one of the lines is broken
- Where temporary parking restrictions are in force e.g. as indicated by no-waiting cones
- Across dropped kerbs, whether or not they are indicated by ‘H’ bar markings.
Drivers must also not park where it would be obstructive or cause a danger to others.
The following are likely but not exhaustive examples:
- At school entrances, bus stops, on a bend, or near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
- Parking opposite or within 10 meters (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
- Where it would make the road narrow, such as by a traffic island or roadworks
- Where it would hold up traffic, such as in narrow stretches of road or blocking vehicle entrances
- Where emergency vehicles stop or go in and out, such as hospital entrances
- Where the kerb has been lowered or the road raised
- On a pavement, unless signs permit it.
How to use the Badge
A Blue Badge is for use in a vehicle that the Badge holder is travelling in, either as driver or passenger.
If a Blue Badge holder does not drive themself, they should share the information in the ‘The Blue Badge Scheme: Rights and Responsibilities in Wales’ booklet with the person who will be carrying them as a passenger.
Blue Badge holders should ensure that when using their Blue Badge, it is placed in a conspicuous position on the dashboard of the vehicle they are travelling in, with the relevant information facing out of the vehicle and fully legible. If the vehicle does not have a dashboard, then the Blue Badge should be displayed in a conspicuous position, so that the relevant details are visible from outside the vehicle.
The Blue Badge should only be displayed when the Blue Badge holder is in the vehicle and using the concessions under the Scheme, except if the vehicle is being driven by someone other than the badge holder for the purpose of entering or exiting an area (which is accessible only to vehicles displaying a Blue Badge) in order to pick up or drop off the Blue Badge holder.
Organisational Blue Badges
Blue Badges given to organisations caring for disabled people must not be used by non-disabled members for their own benefit. Please note that these Badges should only be used when transporting people who would usually be eligible under the Scheme, and when those people will be alighting from the vehicle.
Renewing Blue Badges
Badges last for 3 years or until the end date of any Personal Independence Payments or Disability Living Allowance. Blue Badge holders can apply up to 12 weeks before expiry to Ceredigion County Council for a renewal.
Please note reminders are no longer sent out to advise Blue Badge holders that their badge is expiring, so always check the expiry date and allow adequate time to renew by completing a new application form.
Blue Badge holders (or their representative) must return a badge to Ceredigion County Council if they no longer need it.
Misuse of Blue Badges
Your Blue Badge could be withdrawn if you misuse it or allow others to misuse it.
It is illegal for a Blue Badge holder or another person to misuse a Blue Badge.
Misuse includes, but is not limited to:
- Allowing a person to borrow a Blue Badge (even if they are undertaking an errand on behalf of a Blue Badge Holder)
- Using the Blue Badge to benefit from parking concessions where the Blue Badge holder remains in a vehicle while a driver or passenger(s) leaves the vehicle
- Using a Blue Badge for the purpose of entering or exiting an area (which is accessible only to vehicles displaying a Blue Badge) unless it is in order to pick up or drop off the Blue Badge holder
- Using a Blue Badge which has expired
- Using a Blue Badge belonging to a deceased person
A Blue Badge can be withdrawn if the badge holder misuses it or allows anyone else to misuse it.
It is a criminal offence for a person to misuse a Blue Badge. If they do so, they are liable to a fine of up to £1,000.