Barrow BID businesses decide to take action against disabled shoppers.
Well what can we say, this really does epitomise everything bad about Business Improvement districts (BIDs). Seems Barrow BID businesses are of the view that disabled blue badge parking on double yellow lines in the town is a nuisance, so have written to the Council to recommend restricting it! Are the businesses of Barrow really this callous, or is it just a few that have decided this and think they’re speaking for the town? It’s a disgrace and highlights the problem of BIDs trying to manage the public realm, without a care in the world for others, in particular those less fortunate. The Barrow BID Board should resign immediately for their discriminatory actions, poor judgement, dispassionate approach and consequently the disrepute they’ve brought on the good businesses of Barrow.
Here are the Barrow BID Board meeting minutes when the Directors on behalf of their levy paying businesses, decided they want to write to the Council restricting Blue Badge parking on double yellow lines:
Barrow Business Improvement District. Tuesday 11th August 2020, 6pm. Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting.
12. Car Parking Strategy
On-street parking To compliment off-street car parking the Barrow BID board believes that ALL on-street car parking in commercial town centre streets should be changed to 30 mins.
Finally, on on-street parking, we would like to see restrictions on double yellow lined streets for disabled drivers, to encourage them to park in disabled bays. We are seeing an increasing large amount of vehicles parking on double yellow lined streets like Cavendish Street, even though there are timed parking bays or disabled parking bays within 100m.
This meeting agreed the content of their letter to Barrow Borough Council, which was later sent to the Council and is reported in a news article here. In the article we now know what reference to “restrict parking on double yellow lines” actually means!
This really is disability discrimination of the highest order! So because the BID businesses are seeing an increasing amount of blue badge parking on double yellow lines, they clearly think it’s a nuisance and not acceptable? Let’s remember that the Blue Badge Scheme allows those with severe mobility problems to access goods, services and other facilities by allowing them to park close to their destination.
Just consider for a moment what the Barrow BID businesses are effectively saying:
They are implying that the number of Blue Badge holder parking on double yellow lines has become a major problem and nuisance in Barrow. But why is that and why does it even matter if there is an increased number? Perhaps Barrow BID should share this detail.
They are recommending the Council stops blue badge parking on double yellow lines, is such severe and discriminatory action really needed? With no due care in their decision making process this is clearly a breach of the Equality Act 2010.
They are happy for disabled people to park further away from essential services they may need to access, but if someone has severe mobility issues that could of course be a major problem and the BID businesses clearly don’t care.
If the parking bays are limited to 30 minutes (another of their recommendations), could this mean disable people have to rush around town to do what they need?
If these measures were implemented and given the number of parking bays are limited, if all the bays are occupied then the BID businesses are saying ‘tough luck, go and park in a car park further away or just don’t stop here, we don’t care about supporting you or your custom’. Is that really what the message the BID businesses want to be sending out? The BID is meant to encourage footfall not push it away!
Also consider that the BID businesses:
Have now written to the Council asking for this change without any form of consultation with the wider business and local community (just the few Board Meeting Directors).
Importantly there’s also been no initial consultation with local disability groups in order to take their feedback, feelings and suggestions into account before making their recommendations to the Council. This really is disrespectful and discourteous.
Ignored the fact that Barrow has one of the highest percentages of registered disabled people for it’s population in the North West.
Want to reduce disabled parking in the town, yet concerns have already been expressed about Barrow Council’s ability to meet the potential rise in people requiring access to disabled car space. See a 2019 news article about this here.
Have shown no understanding or compassion for the needs of disabled people wanting to access goods, services or other facilities in the BID area.
Given all the Barrow BID Directors clearly had no care in the world about their recommendation, without even discussion or objections amongst themselves, the Directors are all as bad as each other and they even include Managers from nationals like MacDonalds, Costa and Rymans. Here we go, we can even name and shame this lot as it’s public record on their website here https://barrowbid.co.uk/the-bid-board/;
Attendees at the 11th August Board Meeting: Paul Hodgson - (Ryman), Sandra Collings (Cumbria Sewing), Allan Kerr (Simply WallArt), Kieron Hart (SAFA), Drew Anderson (Costa), Kay Bower (Labour Club), Rowen McClure (RM Letting & development Ltd), John Graham (McDonalds), and Colin Garnett - (BID Manager).
This whole episode is a classic example of how bad things can get when public authorities let a private limited BID company run riot on a public realm power trip. Barrow BID will say, ‘oh but there’s a whole consultation process to come’, but that doesn’t matter here and now, the discriminatory decisions and poor judgements they’ve made tells us enough and already done the reputational damage to Barrow businesses.
The BID chairman and whole Board really should hang their heads in shame and resign now, because surely they’ve shown themselves to be discriminatory and insensitve to those less fortunate than themselves, and downright incompetent when representing the views of the businesses of Barrow.
This is an open letter to Barrow from Helen Sims, a well respected disability rights campaigner of 25 years.
October 2020
To whom it may concern
As a long term disability rights campaigner, I have been contacted on behalf of local residents, regarding the proposed changes to disabled parking on Dalton Road.
Given that these changes are due to take place within close vicinity of (not only) a Personal Independence Payment assessment centre, but also so close to sheltered housing, I find it inconceivable that this should go any further. It blatantly puts people with a disability and illness at a disadvantage with regards to PIP assessment and it endangers them.
At a time when so many are struggling with the extra anxiety and strain put on them by the current pandemic, I would have hoped that you would have more compassion and understanding of people's needs.
Nobody wants to be in the situation 'people with disability and illness find ourselves in' with regards to needing a bit extra help, but we have to deal with it as best we can.
We do not need extra obstacles or discrimination to make things harder. I am disappointed that none of these things (including people's feelings), appear to have been considered.
I have been a campaigner and awareness raiser for over thirty years and I continue to see situations like this arising. For once, it would be nice if people with disability and illness were not an afterthought at best!
I feel it may be necessary to draw further attention to this situation.
Yours sincerely,
Helen Sims.
If you’re a Barrow BID levy paying business reading this, ask yourself if you’re really supportive of the actions here by the BID Board on your behalf, with their recommendations to the Council to severely restrict disabled parking in the town for no good reason? If not then please do write to the BID Chairman to express your feelings.
But to end on a positive note, we would like to highlight the good work of the Barrow Business Concerned Ratepayers (BBCR) who made us aware of this saga. They are a large group of Barrow BID levy paying businesses whom clearly do care about Barrow, are appalled by the BIDs’ discriminatory actions, and as business owners and managers within the BID area, their own unfortunate association with the BID. So Barrow, at least you know there are some compassionate and understanding businesses that are willing to fight for equal rights for all shoppers in your town!
To visit the Barrow Business Concerned Rate Payers (BBCR) Facebook page to learn more about their concerns over Barrow BID, click here.
If you’re a levy payer concerned about Barrow BID and would like to add your name to the massive list of NO voters for the 2021 ballot, please do let BBCR know via a Facebook message or emailing in confidence bbconcernedr@gmail.com.
Use the following social icons to share this article.