Residents fear of people using stolen disabled badges to park around Emirates Stadium

Published: 30 April, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

Angry residents this week expressed new fears that Arsenal fans are using stolen disabled badges to park around the Emirates Stadium.
Parking enforcement officers from Islington Council and police have cracked down on fans using illegal blue badges to park on match days.
The council has been using new powers giving parking attendants the right to inspect disabled parking badges. Previously, only a police officer was able to do so.
Disabled drivers are able to park for free in residential parking bays around the ground on match days as long as they display their blue badge in the windscreen.
It means that residents, who pay £85 annually for a space, can lose their places for several hours every match day.
The blue badges can change hands for as much as £1,600 on the black market. As many as 400 extra badges are said to have appeared on the streets in the past when Arsenal were at home.
Residents who live near the stadium say that, despite the recent crackdown, their streets are still full of vehicles displaying blue badges on match days. They claim that fit young men often emerge from the cars.
One resident, John Keane, said that residents were obviously not against genuine disabled people using the bays. “But if there are people out there using blue badges who are not disabled then something should be done,” he said.
“There are residents who go shopping on Saturday and have young children and lose their parking space. And elderly people visiting their families can’t park close to them.” Residents are calling on the council to cut the cost of the annual parking permit to take into account the loss of car spaces on match days.
Lib Dem council leader Councillor Terry Stacy said the club and the council had a zero tolerance approach to blue badge fraud. “The club, for example, aims to suspend people with season tickets when they find it happens,” he added.
“We will continue to work with residents and the police to clamp down on it. If residents have any concern they should contact the council.”
Labour councillor Theresa Debono said Arsenal should do more to encourage disabled people to park within the stadium. “They do have spaces at the Emirates for disabled drivers but for some reason people do not like parking there,” she said. “It’s mainly because drivers have to wait until the ground has been cleared before they can drive out. The council must ensure blue badge passes are being checked regularly.”
Green councillor Katie Dawson pointed out that Arsenal owns a massive amount of land. “They should be providing parking spaces for disabled drivers and not always pushing the problem onto residents,” she said.