The Purple Badge Scheme
What is the Purple Badge Scheme?
We believe that parking concessions for disabled people are an important and
central feature of our parking policy. As part of our commitment to equal
opportunities we recognise disabled people's needs.
Because of the serious parking problems in central London, the Secretary of
State for Transport decided when the national disabled parking scheme was
introduced that the normal disabled parking concessions would not apply in:
- the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea;
- the City of Westminster;
- the City of London; and
- part of Camden south of Euston Road.
Because of this we, and these other boroughs, have set up special disabled
badge schemes for residents. Ours is the purple badge scheme.
A Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea purple badge is a valuable document
and we do all we can to make sure that only eligible people hold them. If you
think that someone is using a purple badge they are not entitled to, please call
020 7361 2390. We will keep your details confidential.
Download and print a copy of the brochure The Purple Badge Scheme for Disabled People in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
[PDF file]
(File size 468 Kb).
Who qualifies for our purple badge?
- Residential qualification. You will qualify if:
- you spend at least four nights a week at your home in the borough;
- you live at the property for the next 13 weeks in a row at least;
- you pay full Council Tax (or a single person discount) for your property;
- the vehicle registration document shows your name or the name of a lease
or hire company;
- your vehicle is a motorcycle, invalid car, car or van; and
- your vehicle is less than 548.64cm (18 feet) long and less than 208.28cm
(6 feet 10 inches) high.
- You may be eligible for a purple badge if you have a second home in the
borough and pay the reduced Council Tax for this address.
- If you have a live-in carer, he or she may also qualify for a residents'.
We will accept any of the following as proof of your permanent home in this borough:
parking permit.
- Your name must be on the list of registered electors.
- You are paying full or reduced Council Tax.
- Your home contents insurance policy.
- Your tenancy agreement.
- A letter from your solicitor.
If the disabled person is a child aged over two years and under 18, we
will need suitable proof of where they live, for example, a medical card
giving their home address or a letter from their school or college.
- If you are the only person who drives your vehicle and you have one of our
disabled person's purple badges, you do not need to buy a residents' parking
permit.
- If you do not live in the area, one of the following must apply:
- You must be in permanent employment (whether full time or part time).
- You must be studying within this borough.
We will accept the following as proof of your permanent employment or study in this
borough:
- Your employment contract.
- A witness statement by your employer, college or university.
We also give you a European Blue Badge so you can use it outside this borough
in the areas covered by the national scheme.
Disability qualifications
To qualify for our purple badge you must have a permanent disability. Also, one of the following must
apply, so you must:
- receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the disability living allowance;
- receive a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement;
- use a motor vehicle supplied for disabled people by a Government Health Department;
- be registered blind;
- have a severe disability in both upper limbs, regularly drive a motor vehicle but cannot turn the steering wheel of a motor
- vehicle by hand even if that wheel is fitted with a turning knob; or
- have a permanent and substantial disability which means you are unable to walk or have very considerable difficulty in walking. People with
a psychological disorder will not normally qualify unless their impairment
causes very considerable, and not intermittent, difficulty in walking.
(Note: children under two years of age do not qualify for a badge because they would not normally be expected to be able to walk
independently. Organisations caring for disabled people meeting one or more of the above criteria may be able to get a badge, but
this is entirely at the local authorities' discretion and the conditions for using such badges must be strictly observed).
What are the rules for using my purple badge?
- Apart from badges held by institutions, all other badges must have your photo on them.
- You must display your purple badge on your vehicle's windscreen or dashboard, facing the front so that anyone can
read its details from outside the vehicle.
- Purple badges are valid for three years, apart from any purple badges we have given to people who do not live in the area and
these are valid for one year.
- If your 'nominated' driver lives in the Royal Borough and does not have off-street parking available to them, they must have a
residents' parking permit.
You should send us your badge when:
- you don't need it any more;
- it has run out;
- the details are faded or can't be read;
- the vehicle registration is not valid; or
- a badge that you had lost is found, but it has already been
replaced by another one.
- You must return your badge if we ask you to.
- Your vehicle must not be more than 6 feet 10 inches (208.28 centimetres) high or 18 feet (548.64 centimetres)
long.
- You must make sure that other members of your family do not use your badge when you are not travelling in the vehicle. You need to
make sure that your badge is used properly. This is particularly important if you are issued with a purple badge and you are a
passenger. To reduce the risk of someone else using your badge, you should take
the badge out of the vehicle whenever you are not using it.
- We can refuse your application for a purple badge if:
- we have reasonable grounds to believe that you are not who you say you are;
- we suspect that you would allow another motorist to display the badge in their vehicle; or
- you have not used a disabled parking badge properly on at least three occasions, and this could have led to a
relevant conviction.
Where can I park?
- Free parking is allowed (with no time limit) in any 'on-street' resident
parking bay, as long as there is no parking suspension in force.
- Free parking is allowed (with no time limit) in any pay-and-display bay, as
long as there is no parking suspension in force.
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| Resident parking bay |
|
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| Pay-and-display bay |
|
An exception to this rule applies at the following locations, due to their special operational hours.
Holland Park Avenue between 10 am and 4 pm from Monday to Friday and between 8.30 pm and 1.30 pm on Saturdays.
Parking is not restricted after 1.30 pm on Saturdays.
Notting Hill Gate between 10 am and 4 pm from Monday to Friday and between 10 am and 1.30 pm on Saturdays.
Parking is not restricted after 1.30 pm on Saturdays.
- You can park for 20 minutes on yellow lines to allow for a disabled person to
be dropped off or picked up, or for
collecting goods, as long as no loading restriction is in place.
Always check if a suspension notice is in force. The suspension notices are
triangular, bright yellow signs that are 1.5 feet by 1 foot (46cm by 30cm) in
size.
Where can't I park?
- In any pay-and-display machine bay in the following circumstances.
- Holland Park Avenue between 8 am and 10 am and between 4 pm and 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday.
- Notting Hill Gate between 8 am and 10 am and between 4 pm and 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday and between 8 am
and 10 am on Saturdays.
- You can't park where a loading ban is in force, as shown by a time plate and
one to two yellow kerb markings.
- You can't park in a bus lane while bus services are running (see appropriate
time plate).
- You can't park in a cycle lane.
- You can't park on any clearway.
- You can't park on a zebra or pelican crossing, or on the zig-zag road markings
before and after these crossings.
- You can't park in a parking bay marked for the police, taxis or coaches.
- You can't park in a suspended bay.
- You can't park in Diplomatic bays
- You can't park in Doctor's bays
- You can't park on personalised disabled bays
- You can't park where temporary parking limits are in force along part of a road, for example, as shown by
'no-waiting' cones.
Also, you should not park your vehicle where it could cause a danger to other people or where it can cause an obstruction!
Can I have a given or named parking bay where I live?
We may provide reserved parking bays for people who cannot walk more than 50
metres and who have been judged to need this facility. Each parking bay is
marked by an identity number which is also printed on your special permit. You
must display this personalised permit, and your purple badge, in the vehicle
when you are using the bay.
If you don't display your purple badge in the vehicle, you (or the driver if
you are the passenger) may get a penalty charge notice (PCN), or the vehicle may be clamped or removed.
How do I apply for a purple badge?
If you ask the Accessible Transport Service Team (ATST), they will send you an application form for a purple badge and a disabled person's parking bay.
| Accessible Transport |
Accessible Transport |
| Service Team (ATST) |
Service Team (ATST) |
| Customer Service Centre |
Room B152 |
| Ground Floor |
Ground Floor |
| Kensington Town Hall |
Kensington Town Hall |
| Hornton Street |
Hornton Street |
| London |
London |
| W8 7NX |
W8 7NX |
Phone: 020 7361 2390
Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday – 9.30am to 4.30pm
Friday – 9.30am to 4pm
(The reception desk is closed from 1pm to 2pm Monday to Friday)
You should apply to renew your purple badge at least four weeks before your current badge runs out.
At your service
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