OVER the past couple of weeks the issue of the Special Access Permits, the 'Green Badge' and disabled parking in the centre of Mansfield has been aired in the pages of Chad.
However, I do feel that there has been a certain amount of disinformation put about by various 'spokespersons.'
I was only awarded my disability 'Blue Badge' last year but I was not informed of any Special Access Permit for parking in Mansfield or o
ther areas of Nottinghamshire at the time of issue.
Council bosses are quoted as saying that the restricted parking zone and the 'Green Permit' have been in force for some time. Why was I not informed at the time of issue of my Blue Badge? Co Coun Helen Holt who campaigns for the disabled in Mansfield and Ashfield states in your article of 2nd July that the disabled should have been informed. However, I was not informed of the requirements of the 'Green Badge' until I had received a penalty notice.
In your article 'Green' only to park your car, there are several misleading statements from a council 'spokesperson'. He or she states that the signs at the entrance to the pedestrianised area state that only green special access permit holders may access the area between Sundays and Wednesdays.
I would dispute this statement as the only place that the Special Access Permits sign is used in Mansfield that I can find is in Church Street adjacent to the Market square. At all other parking areas in the precinct bays that are marked out on the ground with the disabled logo are signed 'Permit Holders Only' as shown in your article on page 2, Chad 2nd July. The signs in Church Street are not within the rules anyway as there are no bays marked out on the ground.
It would seem to me that Nottinghamshire County Council, their 'spokespersons' and employees need to get their acts together and inform the public of the correct facts, otherwise nothing but confusion and injustice will prevail.
Please, fellas, get it right.
JND,Kirkby.
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