Halifax bus station revamp: Swapping ‘blue badge’ spots for bus bays unlikely, says senior Calderdale councillor

Calderdale Council Cabinet member for Regeneration and Strategy, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said bays ensured no disabled person was disadvantaged by having to park further away than they reasonably should have to.

That there may be underused bays elsewhere in the town centre should not be taken to imply removal of bays would not have a detrimental effect, she said.

Councillor Roger Taylor (Ind, Northowram and Shelf) had said, with the closure of the bus station, most buses were terminating all over the town centre, with a number using Ward’s End for the purpose.

But that stop only catered for two buses and sometimes three or even four buses could be waiting there for their timetable slot before leaving, causing congestion at Ward’s End, and the situation was not ideal.

He asked if, and as a short-term, temporary, measure, the two “blue badge” bays for disabled drivers there could be replaced by extra stops as, post-lockdown there seemed to be plenty of alternative “blue badge” spaces available which could be used by drivers.

Coun Scullion, although setting out the council’s position, said she would ask officers to investigate Coun Taylor’s suggestion further.

Coun Taylor’s question was asked during a questions section of a meeting of the full Calderdale Council at Halifax Town Hall.