St Helens Council says relocation of blue badge spaces 'necessary'

Spaces at Chalon Way West and Foundry Street have been removed ahead of the creation of a temporary bus station at the location, under the St Helens town centre regeneration plans.

The council says it has created an accessible car park on Parade Street and added additional blue badge parking bays to the car park on Birchley Street as a replacement.

However, the greater distance away from Church Square Shopping Centre has sparked claims that disabled shoppers have been disregarded.

A temporary bus station is to be created at Chalon Way West (Image: St Helens Star)

'Disabled people are the easiest targets'

One Star reader who got in touch about the issue said: "The idea behind Blue Badge Spaces is that disabled people can shop in the centre of town from a convenient point which does not require lengthy walking and carrying bags too far.

"The council is removing more of than 40 Blue Badge spaces and are suggesting alternatives which are too far from the new centre of town.

"It seems when it comes to choosing temporary sites, disabled people are the easiest targets.

"There will be a lot of competition for closest areas to park and this will be a bone of contention."

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They added: "There are also no assurances that these parking spaces will be returned once the new bus station is built.

"I’m afraid a lot of disabled people will find alternative towns that treat disabled people with more respect."

What St Helens Council has said

When contacted about this, a spokesperson for St Helens Borough Council said the temporary relocation is necessary and that it was not possible to introduce blue badge parking at the closer-situated Tontine car park due to its layout.

The council said it could not introduce blue badge parking at Tontine car park in a manner that complies with legislation (Image: St Helens Star)

The spokesperson said: “Creating a Temporary Bus Hub on Chalon Way West is key to ensuring travel around St Helens remains seamless when construction work begins on the town centre regeneration. To enable this, it has been necessary to temporarily relocate the existing parking bays on Chalon Way West and Foundry Street for the duration of the construction works.  

“To replace these parking spaces, we have created a dedicated, free-to-use accessible car park on Parade Street and added additional Blue Badge parking bays to Birchley Street car park. Both locations have benefitted from upgrades – including dropped kerbs and tactile paving – to ensure they provide safe and DDA-compliant access into the town centre.  

“These new parking spaces are in addition to 94 Blue Badge parking spaces that continue to be available around the town centre at on street locations and within car parks."

Birchley Street car park (Image: Google Maps)

Council will 'review feedback' on measures

The spokesperson added: “We appreciate these new locations are a greater distance from Church Square Shopping Centre however due to significant challenges with the layout of Tontine multi-storey car park it was not possible to introduce additional Blue Badge parking there in a manner that complies with legislation.

“These changes are temporary and are designed to be in place until construction work completes in winter 2026. No decisions have been taken about the location of Blue Badge parking when the town centre regeneration is completed, and we are committed to consulting with Blue Badge holders in the future to inform any decisions about the permanent provision of accessible parking.

“We have written to Blue Badge holders to notify them of this change and to provide a map showing all Blue Badge parking locations in the town centre.

"We will also review any feedback once the measures have taken effect.”