York's WHO network bid paused amid blue badge 'existential crisis'

And the city is to pause its bid to join a World Health Organisation (WHO) age-friendly network, amid claims the blue badge decision is causing "isolation, exclusion and unhappiness" among the elderly.

Members of the council-led health and wellbeing board said it wouldn’t be right to apply for WHO age-friendly community status while the city is still grappling with the fallout of the decision to remove the exemption that allowed blue badge holders to park in the city’s footstreets.

The council says it is necessary to remove as many cars as possible from the footstreets to install anti-terrorism barriers.

York is already a member of the UK network of age-friendly communities and council chiefs had wanted the go-ahead to apply to join the international WHO network, which already features Knowsley and Middlesbrough Council.

But council information and social action manager Carl Wain said that it “wouldn’t feel right” to press ahead given concerns raised about the blue badge ban’s impact on the elderly and disabled.

York Accessibility Action, who are fundraising for a legal battle against the blue badge decision

He suggested engaging with community groups to try to find “a positive and constructive way forward”.

Earlier in the meeting, Diane Rowarth, from York Sight Loss Council, said the “discriminatory” blue badge ban was “causing isolation, exclusion and unhappiness – all the things that contribute to physical and mental ill-health.”

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Jim Cannon, chair of York Older People’s Assembly, added: “It’s had a major impact on one of the centres for older people, which is St Sampson’s, and their footfall has dropped greatly.

“One of the key issues in the health and wellbeing strategy is to tackle isolation and loneliness. What the blue badge ban does is increase it – it stops people from getting out and about.”

According to the WHO, age-friendly cities enable older people to “age safely in a place that is right for them; be free from poverty; continue to develop personally; and to contribute to their communities while retaining autonomy, health and dignity".

Board member Sian Balsom, manager of Healthwatch York, said: “It does highlight a bit of an existential crisis in terms of who I thought we were as a city and who we are at the moment. And I think we have to resolve that to move forward together before we can apply for WHO status.”

David Harbourne, of York CVS, said he felt the city was “going backwards” when it came to being age-friendly, highlighting issues such as the impact of pavement cafe licences on city centre access, online booking systems for GP appointments and the switch to digital-only parking permits.

The council is trying to mitigate the impact of its blue badge decision with a range of measures, including employing an access officer, investing in the dial-a-ride service and reviewing pavement cafe licences.

Backing the decision to pause the WHO application, Cllr Janet Looker said: “If we’re going to participate in this, it will mean difficult decisions on our part, as well as on everybody else’s part.

“If we’re genuinely consulting, we have to make it meaningful. There are too many consultations which end up saying ‘yes, we’ve listened to what you have got to say, but this is what we’re going to do’.”