CORNWALL Council is to review its policy on charging for disabled parking after being deluged by criticism for asking £3,800 for a space for a woman with multiple sclerosis.

And councillors have decided to suspend all such charges while a policy review takes place.

Deb Race, from St Austell, sparked outrage in the press and on social media when she said she was charged £3,800 to create a disabled parking bay outside her home.

Genevieve Edwards, director of external affairs at the MS Society, said: ‘Not only is this charge extortionate, it doesn’t make sense that the cost would differ so widely based on where you live.

‘Ultimately this is a decision to tax society’s most vulnerable people and it’s incredibly unfair.

‘Disabled parking bays can make a difference in coping with them so we hope Cornwall Council rethinks this charge.’

After a meeting on Tuesday, Cornwall Council confirmed it will ‘urgently’ review its policy for people with disabilities to pay for disabled parking spaces near their homes.

The council has a scheme where blue badge holders who are residents of Cornwall may qualify for a disabled parking space near their home.

The council said it goes through a legal process to introduce a Traffic Regulation Order, which involves public consultation and normally costs around £3,300. 

Council leader Adam Paynter said: ‘We have a responsibility to support people to have active lives in their local community, which is why I have asked for an urgent review.

‘People with a disability should not be disadvantaged by a policy and our practice needs to be consistent with the rest of the country.’

The council will be consulting residents and disability groups in Cornwall to explore options, and will look at what other local authorities do.

Some authorities charge between £40 and £100, while in other areas spaces are provided for free.

In the meantime, the council has immediately suspended any further charges for individual disabled people while the review is undertaken.

The council aims to complete the review for the start of the next financial year.