We’d like to thank the many disabled people and supporters who turned out in atrocious conditions ahead of the council meeting on Thursday evening (October 20) for our peaceful protest about the ban on Blue Badge access to the city centre.

The 2,700-plus postcards that we collected over the summer were presented to the council at the meeting, where four of us spoke about the hugely detrimental impact that the ban is having on disabled people’s lives.

The postcards urged the ruling Lib Dem-Green administration to overturn this disgraceful, discriminatory ban and allow blue badge holders back into the city.

The strength of feeling is enormous and York’s reputation is being tarnished while this ban remains in place.

In line with council processes, the petition will be considered at the authority’s customer and corporate services scrutiny committee at 5.30pm on November 7.

Thank you to all our supporters. We can be contacted at reversethebanyork@gmail.com or www.reversetheban.co.uk or 01904 326781. We won’t give up!

Reverse the Ban, C/o Centre for Applied Human Rights, Innovation Close, York

 

York’s blue badge shame

Last Thursday evening City of York Council unanimously backed Labour’s motion to adopt the social model of disability – the idea that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference.

The Lib Dem-Green executive must now follow through on their votes by removing the barriers to Blue Badge holders accessing the city centre.

There was one faint glimmer of hope; Cllr Craghill told council she ‘will push for a review into how CCTV and sliding bollards could be used to allow blue badge holders back into footstreets’. Though welcome, what a pity this change of heart comes so late in the day.

A year ago, I made this same proposal at the scrutiny committee I chair. The idea was rejected by the Lib Dems on the committee.

I repeated the suggestion at the decision-making meeting, but executive members ignored me - as they did the many pleas from the city’s disabled community. All of them, Cllr Craghill included, backed the ban.

In the past year there have been many opportunities for an executive change of heart. Sadly, I still don’t think they get it: the barriers - physical and philosophical - remain. Shame on them.

Cllr Jonny Crawshaw, Labour, Micklegate Ward, Wentworth Road, York