Disabled parking bays
June 2025 - Update
In March we invited the first 25 people that had submitted an Expression of Interest form for a Residential Disabled Parking Bay (RDPB) to be installed. The first batch of 25 eligible applications for RDPBs have passed the Application Review stage and are now at the Site Review stage. At this stage, we will carry out site visits.
We will inform applicants of the outcome of their application, once the site review is completed.
For more information on the application procedure, please see the Application procedure – Residential Disabled Parking Bay (RDPB) Policy.
In August 2025 we will contact the next 25 people on the Expression of Interest list, inviting them to complete the application form.
There are over 100 people on the Expression of Interest waitlist, and we expect this number to rise. We will keep providing updates and thank those of you who have completed an Expression of Interest form for your patience.
Complete the Expression of Interest form to be added to the waitlist. When we reach the date to invite the next 25 people to apply, we will contact them with further information.
The reference number on your Expression of Interest form is indicative of your position on the waitlist. Anticipated dates to receive an application form based on the position on the Expression of Interest waitlist are:
- Positions 40 to 65 – August 2025
- Positions 66 to 90 – February 2026
- Positions 91 to 115 – August 2026
However, please be advised that you may be invited to submit an application in an earlier batch if a space becomes available.
If you do not want to wait to be included in one of the free batch processes
You can apply outside of the batching schedule. To do this, you will be required to meet the full cost for the RDPB to be installed. These costs include:
- an individual Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), and
- the marking and signing of a bay
This is a legal process and takes a minimum of 3 to 6 months to put in place.
The current fees and charges for an RDPB can be found on our fees and charges document. These fees are subject to review.
To apply for an RDPB outside of the free batching process, please email HighwaysQueries@southend.gov.uk for an application form.
Requesting for a disabled bay near your home to be removed
Reducing parking pressures across the city is at the forefront of this process. Therefore, any disabled bays throughout the city will be removed if they prove to no longer be in use by a Blue Badge holder.
Please email council@southend.gov.uk to make a request, providing details about the location of the bay and why you believe it is no longer required.
We will send a letter to the address associated with the Disabled Bay to confirm if the bay is still in use. Should we not receive the documents needed, a further letter will be sent regarding a date for the removal of the Bay.
Requesting for a disabled bay near your home to be relined
To make sure the Disabled Bay is in use by a Blue Badge Holder, we will send a letter to the address associated with the bay to confirm if the bay is still in use.
Please email council@southend.gov.uk to make a request. You will need to provide details about the location of the bay and photographs of the faded bay if possible. A Highways officer will attend to decide if the bay needs relining.
Applying for a disabled bay near your home
The current set criteria that must be met is:
- applicant must be registered disabled
- applicant must be in receipt of the higher rate component of the Disability Living Allowance or the higher level of Personal Independence Payment (PIP); or
- applicant must be in receipt of the higher rate of Attendance Allowance
- applicant must be a Blue Badge holder
Approval cannot be granted where:
- the applicant residence has an existing off-street parking, or the ability to create one
- there is an existing waiting restriction at the location whereby it cannot be removed for traffic or safety reasons
- the proposed location is within 10 metres of a junction
Types of disabled parking bays
Blue Badge holder only bays
These are parking bays with DISABLED marked in letters on the floor and are accompanied by the disabled bay sign plates which are available both on-street and in some of our Council car parks. These are enforceable and should only be used by Blue Badge holders. A valid Blue Badge must be clearly displayed in the vehicle. If there is no visible Blue Badge, you are at risk of receiving a penalty charge notice (PCN).
Please be aware that some bays may have a time limit and the clock must also be on display along with a valid Blue Badge. The sign plates next to the bay will tell you if there is a time limit.
Disabled bays near your home
Blue Badge holders may be eligible to apply for a disabled bay near their home. This will be an enforceable bay and can only be used by Blue Badge holders. It is not exclusively for the applicants use.
Advisory marked bays
Bays not accompanied by a sign plate are an advisory marked bay only. This means no parking enforcement can be carried out if a non-blue badge holder uses it.