Wiltshire Council confirmed Blue Badge holders can park freely in council-operated car parks again, following a vote at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday 21 October; you might think the majority would support the notion, but misinformation against it is being spread by an ex-Wiltshire Councillor and current Devizes Town Councillor on their popular Facebook group…..
Confirmation on the lift was published on the Wiltshire Council website, 22nd October 2025, stating “with full Council now backing the change, Blue Badge holders are once again able to park free of charge in all Wiltshire Council car parks.” The scheme forcing disabled blue badge holders to pay for parking was introduced by the former Conservative-led council in 2022.
Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, said, “I’m delighted that Full Council has supported this important change. Reinstating free parking for Blue Badge holders is a significant step towards making Wiltshire a more inclusive and accessible county. There are more than 30,000 Blue Badge holders in Wiltshire, many of whom face mobility challenges or rely on others for transport. This policy recognises the barriers they face and promotes fairness, independence and dignity. We know that many Blue Badge holders also experience lower levels of income, and this policy change will help them financially, too.”
But it was matters of finance which sparked debate on local social media groups last week. Devizes Town Councillor Iain Wallis published a statement on his own-managed Facebook group Devizes Issues, claiming Wiltshire taxpayers will foot the bill in their council tax. I thought I’d fact-check this because I pondered that simply lifting the charges surely wouldn’t incur too much cost, if anything.
It seems the ‘subsidising’ of Blue Badge holder parking comes out of the general car parking revenue account, NOT our council tax.
M&D Lib Dem Campaign Organiser Nathan liaised with some councillors to provide some clarity. It seems the ‘subsidising’ of Blue Badge holder parking comes out of the general car parking revenue account, NOT our council tax. “Any surplus from that account is reinvested into transport schemes,” he continued to explain, “so if anyone is subsidising it, it’s other car park users. However, what it does is allow blue badge holders better access to shops and other facilities, which should lead to better profits, so more corporation tax is paid in.”
The Wiltshire Council press release stresses, “we’re updating the signage as soon as we can,” so obviously there’s a small cost there, but otherwise, it actually stands to potentially generate revenue via corporation tax gained by better retail profit. But aside, the bottom line is, the cost to update signage wouldn’t have been necessary at all if the previous Conservative-led Wiltshire Council hadn’t enforced parking charges on disabled drivers in the first place.
Dammit, Janet, this is going to backfire on the Tory ex-councillor with a reputation for banishing users of his Facebook group who spread apparent “misinformation,” but then, he should not be spreading misinformation himself, surely?! Ooh, could I speculate the spread of misinformation on Devizes Issues is acceptable if it fits a certain narrative approved by the admin? Who’d have possibly imagined it?!
Looky here, the last thing I want to do, or would ever do, is make verbal personal attacks on anyone. Though, when calling out the spread of misinformation concerning local matters, this one town councillor and ex-Wilsthire councillor’s name pops up frequently. While he may favour playing the victim card, as he has done with us in the past, this serves only to fact check claims made, and is not intended to be a personal attack. It never was personal and it certainly isn’t now.
It is simply that, even if you are fit and able to walk or travel by bus, and you think disabled people paying for parking doesn’t affect you, it might one day not be the case. Ergo, if you are fit and able, you are perfectly within your rights to find free parking elsewhere even if it means a short walk and you pay nothing towards the small cost of changing some signage; storm in a teacup!
Disabled people may not have that option, and therefore the introduction of parking charges for blue badge holders was an unjust stealth tax by the former Conservative-led Council. In conclusion, it is evident and unfortunate that you should take what you read on Devizes Issues with a pinch of salt. The move by Wiltshire Council should be viewed as a benefit to the communities it serves, and they should be congratulated for reversing the decision to charge disabled people for parking fees.
devizine.com 