Pembrokeshire mum's concerns over council parking bay removal plans

A Pembrokeshire mother has further highlighted concerns that her autistic teenage son could lose his independence if his family's on-street parking bay is taken away by Pembrokeshire County Council.
Disabled residents across Pembrokeshire are facing a sudden loss of independence as Pembrokeshire County Council are making moves to remove designated disabled parking bays from outside their homes - claiming the bays are now "illegal."
Crucially, these bays were officially installed by the council under the Disabled Persons Parking Pilot (DPPP) and are governed by active Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) that explicitly mandate specific permit use.
The DPPP was launched by Pembrokeshire County Council in March 2022 to provide dedicated on-street parking bays for eligible disabled residents.
Cabinet approved the pilot scheme to provide individual disabled parking bays for residents meeting specific eligibility criteria. As part of the approval, it was agreed that the scheme would be reviewed after two years to assess its effectiveness and determine whether it should be revised or withdrawn.
At PCC’s services overview and scrutiny committee meeting held earlier this year at County Hall, members unanimously approved the option recommended [to align with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984] to transition from individualised bays to category-based bays, e.g., general bays bascially for Blue Badge holders, after receiving a report from the Local Authority’s Head of Transport and Environment.
However, Haverfordwest resident Claire Gray has since raised concerns, highlighting that this approach from Pembrokeshire Council will affect other areas across the county too.
Claire who provides care for her son 16-year-old son Jack, 24/7 due to his complex needs and him needing constant supervision, previously told the Observer: “My son is one of the 20 disabled residents of Pembrokeshire this will affect.
“He has significant and profound learning difficulties and this is going to make his world so small by trapping him in the house again!
“By bypassing proper legal channels to scrap their own scheme, the council is leaving extremely vulnerable residents including disabled children with severe mobility issues isolated and effectively trapped as prisoners in their own homes,” she continued.
“Vulnerable residents who pay permits for these spaces and rely entirely on close-proximity parking will no longer be safely able to leave their properties for medical care or daily life.
“Pembrokeshire County Council claims the residential bays are "illegal" under national legislation. However, the bays are governed by local TROs specifically set up to handle these exact permits.
“Despite the existing legal framework, the council is allegedly stripping the bays away without launching the statutory 21-day public consultation required to alter a TRO, and without conducting mandatory Equality Impact Assessments.”
©Video: BBC Wales