ON October, the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) conducted a successful Blue Badge Day of Action, resulting in more than 300 Blue Badges being checked, 14 being inspected and six Penalty Charge Notices issued.

During the Day of Action, NEPP officers focused on Colchester, Clacton-on-Sea, and Harlow, where hundreds of Blue Badges were checked for fraud and misuse. Officers were also available to answer any queries from the public.

The South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) also participated in this Blue Badge Day of Action, making it an Essex-wide event. In total, over 700 Blue Badges were checked, 26 PCNs were issued, and two Blue Badges were confiscated across Essex.

Blue badges provide individuals with an exemption from certain parking restrictions and access to designated disabled parking spaces. The purpose of this Day of Action was to address those misusing the badge and illegally utilising the parking concession.

Examples of Blue Badge misuse include:

• Using a badge when the badge holder is not part of the journey
• Using a badge that belongs to a deceased person
• Using an out of date or expired badge.

Councillor Paul Honeywood, Chair of the North Essex Parking Partnership, said: “The misuse of the Blue Badge is an act of fraud and prevents those with a valid blue badge from being able to use the accessible parking spaces they need. 

“Blue Badge abuse will not be tolerated, and I hope this Day of Action sends a clear message to anyone misusing the scheme.”