Blue badges
About the scheme
The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for people with severe walking difficulties who travel either as drivers or passengers.The badge allows holders to park close to their destination, but generally only applies to on-street parking. The Scheme also applies to registered blind people, people in receipt of a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement and people with very severe upper limb disabilities who regularly drive a vehicle but cannot turn a steering wheel by hand. In exceptional circumstances, children under the age of two may qualify.
The badge may only be used when the badge holder is driving or being transported in the vehicle. It may not be used by a friend, relative or helper even when providing a service for the disabled badge holder such as shopping unless the badge holder is travelling with them.
When the badge is used, it must be clearly displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle, with the front (showing the wheelchair user symbol) facing outwards, so that the expiry date, serial number and issuing authority are easily visible through the windscreen.
In Wandsworth, the parking concessions for blue badge holders include free use of pay-and-display bays, shared use (permit holder and pay and display) bays, permit holder only bays, resident permit holder only bays, business permit holder only bays and disabled bays, without time limit.
The concessions do not include parking in loading bays, doctor's bays, bays that have been suspended, disabled bays that have a limited stay (generally sited in busy areas, near shops and amenities) or disabled bays provided for specific residents (as indicated on the bay sign). In addition, the Blue Badge cannot be used to park on Red Routes, unless signs permit it , or where the vehicle obstructs access or sight lines e.g at junctions and next to dropped kerbs.
Badge holders can also park for up to three hours on yellow lines (except where there is a ban on loading or unloading or other restrictions). You must display your badge and clock, which must be set to the time of arrival when parking on yellow lines.
Further information is available on the DfT blue badge scheme web pages.
