A NORTHWICH man whose elderly mum was refused a disabled parking space outside her house has dubbed the council’s decision 'disgusting'.

Tim Houlbrooke’s mum, Ann Houlbrooke, is 88, struggles with her mobility, and suffers from dementia.

She relies on her son to drive her to and from her frequent medical appointments, and to take her food shopping.

Tim says parking on David Street in Castle, where Ann has lived for 55 years, is now 'beyond a joke', and he often has to park three streets away to pick her up and drop her off. 

This means she has to walk a several hundred metres, sometimes multiple times each day, which he says is 'a massive struggle' for her.  

In June, Tim applied to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) for a disabled parking bay outside her house. 

As Ann qualifies for attendance allowance and has a disabled blue badge, she’s entitled to be considered. 

But after CWAC came out to perform an assessment in August, Tim was told Ann couldn’t have one.  

CWAC said disabled parking bays must be 6.6 metres long, which it says is 'the national standard', but this is wider than the frontage of Ann's house.

The council has since said it would re-consider its decision if Tim gets written authorisation from Ann's neighbours confirming they don’t object to the parking bay, but he says this 'isn't his job'. 

He says 6.6 metres is ‘totally unnecessary’ and shows ‘a complete lack of common sense’ from the council.

He said: “I think it’s disgusting. It’s ludicrous in this day and age.

“She’s at an age when she has a lot of medical appointments, and I can’t even pick her up or drop her off outside her own home.

“I often have to park three streets away. It's very difficult for my mum as she can’t walk that far.

“It’s ridiculous. It feels like she’s being penalised just for being old.

“I don’t see it as my place to go cap in hand to the neighbours begging them to sign something to say they’ll allow part of a disabled parking bay in front of their property.

“I’m going to contact my MP. I feel like I’ve got nowhere left to turn.”

Disabled parking spaces outside homes are not exclusive to the householder who applies for them, but can be used by anyone who has a valid disabled blue badge.

A CWAC spokesman said: “We understand the concerns raised by Mr Houlbrooke on behalf of his mum about a request for a disabled parking bay on David Street, Northwich.

“The size of disabled bay markings placed on the highway are a national standard to ensure there is consistency across the country.

“The minimum length of a disabled parking bay is 6.6 metres, and this cannot be shortened.

“The minimum width is 2.7 metres which also needs to be considered given that parking on David Street is on both sides of the road.

“We have undertaken a site assessment which confirmed that 6.6 metres would not be able to be provided without extending across neighbour’s properties.

“We have suggested to Mr Houlbrooke he speaks to the neighbours to see if they would be happy for the disabled parking bay to extend across their property.

“If confirmed, we would be willing to re-consider the provision of this marking.”