At the beginning of the week, members of the Boston Disability Forum met Boston Borough Council for a third time to voice objections to plans to charge Blue Badge Holders to use the town’s car parks.
Despite the two previous meetings, this one is required to help the council “"fully understand” their objections.
We don’t know how much help the councillors need – but feel that it will not be a case of third time lucky for the group.
So that the council has no doubt as to their position, the group has also written  a letter, listing some of the physical things that disabled people may not be able to do – aside from possibly not being able to afford to pay.
The letter adds that disabled people may take much longer to shop or do business in the town, or conversely have to cut their trip short due to feeling unwell, stressed, anxious, or through problems of mental and/or physical fatigue.
It concludes: “Please do not add stress and pressure to the lives of the disabled community by introducing payment schemes and charges. They rely and trust you to provide them with an accessible town.”
The latter may be true, but the writing on the wall suggests the borough’s disabled and their champions will be disappointed.
Campaigners initially took heart when an announcement was made that the council had called a special meeting on 28^th  June to discuss their objections and decide whether or not to introduce the proposed Amendment Order in its current format. 
However – thanks to a constitution apparently designed to give democracy the heave-ho – because it is a special meeting there will be only one agenda item, and questions from councillors or the public will not be allowed.
Members of the disability forum will be marking this enforced silence with one of their own …
“We will be holding a silent protest to object to the changes, and to object to the fact there is a public meeting where the public are invited to attend but they are not allowed to speak,” said Boston Disability Forum Secretary, Becky Wood.
“The silent and peaceful protest will take place on 28^th June from 5.45pm until 6.15pm outside the Municipal Buildings.
“Banners will be provided.”
The forum has also launched a campaign on Petition Online  -  a national website.
The appeal reads:

Please sign our petition in protest against the ignorant Boston Tory Council who are introducing disabled parking charges, even though the machines are not disabled accessible. Their answer to this is to introduce complicated payment schemes for the disabled and plan not to make all the meters accessible until 2017!  They are only introducing these charges to make up a budget shortfall of £200,000. Do you think it is ethical to hit the disabled community of the town to make this up? Do you think an able-bodied person in a wheelchair pretending to be disabled to test access of parking meters is disturbing? Do you think disabled people being compared to able-bodied people is equality? If you think not, sign the petition.

 The reference to an able-bodied officer in a wheelchair has become a matter of contention.

Although it was apparently confirmed – and heard by a number of people – at a recent meeting, it would now appear that they were all mistaken!
Independent Councillor Carol Taylor – who with the Labour opposition demanded that the decision should be called in for re-evaluation – reported on her blog last week that an email from Chief Executive Richard Harbord declared that the tale of the able-bodied person posing as a disabled person by sitting in a wheelchair was not true.
“I was ready with a huge apology to the person concerned,” she wrote, “and when I contacted a few of my colleagues they were adamant that the person involved had admitted to it and that they would swear to this in a court of law. “I also don't understand why at the call-in, the person did not deny this allegation.”
It was Winston Churchill who famously said: “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
Perhaps this is what they have in mind at Worst Street as well.
And let us not forget ... once charges for disabled parking are railroaded through, the only people in Boston who will not have to pay to park will be the staff and members of Boston Borough Council - a "freebie" which costs the taxpayers more than £100,000 a year.

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