Disabled drivers can breathe a sigh of relief after a council changed its mind about charging them to park in its car parks.

A report prepared by officers to be submitted to cabinet members at Tonbridge and Malling council proposed the trial introduction of ANPR cameras at two car parks in the borough - Haysden Country Park and Western Road in Borough Green.

But officers said the cameras would not be able to distinguish between blue badge holders and ordinary drivers, and therefore disabled motorists would lose the free parking that they currently enjoy.

However, after KentOnline broke the story, there was a public outcry - and the council found it could excuse Blue Badge holders after all.

Kay Sinclair is one of the organisers of Tonbridge - You Need To Know! , a Facebook group that emerged from earlier public protests at the introduction of Sunday parking charges and other car park changes recently implemented by the council.

She said: “We are so grateful to KentOnline for bringing this to the public’s attention.

“Nobody, not even some of the councillors we spoke to, were aware of this proposal.

“People were already very upset about the other changes to the parking charges, but this was a step too far.

“There was a massive outburst of protest on social media and many people contacted their councillors to complain.”

Mrs Sinclair said: “I honestly feel that if KentOnline hadn’t highlighted this to us, we wouldn’t have been able to bring so much pressure to bear before it was voted in - pressure which was instrumental in getting the councillors to agree to look for concessions for Blue Badges holders and not just voting it through regardless.

“Free parking makes a big difference, because of the time it takes for the disabled to do tasks and activities. They should not be financially penalised for their disability.”

At the following cabinet meeting, the cabinet member responsible for parking, Cllr Martin Coffin (Con), said: “I am aware, and have received, a few … questions, essentially, about Blue Badge users of ANPR car parks.

“At the time of drafting this report - of course, this report is seeking authority to go to tender to get this system in place. At the time, there was a discussion and it was felt it might be difficult to positively discriminate.

“It is now come to light that that is not the case and indeed there is a system in place in other authorities which allows positive discrimination for those with Blue Badges.

“The consequence of that is we would be seeking the officers to put that into the tender document to ensure that we can actually positively discriminate in favour of those with Blue Badges to continue to use the car parks free of charge.

“So that’s the only slight change that I would suggest to this report. Otherwise, I think the report as written is commendable.”

Back-bench councillor Frani Hoskins (Lib Dem) said: “I’d like to thank the residents of Tonbridge for raising the issue about Blue Badge holders.”

“I’d just like to draw attention to page 32 of the officers’ report and I can’t help but think that people would have been a lot less worried had this been done differently.

“At Item 11a, it says, ‘Does the decision discriminate against different groups - and the answer is Yes, and it talks about disabled drivers and Blue Badges.

“Then at 11C, it says what steps are we taking to mitigate, reduce or minimise the impact - it says ‘Not Applicable.’

“If in that little box we had said we are looking at different methods, we’re finding out the different systems, we will resolve this issue, people would have been a lot less worried and a lot less angry.

“We could have avoided a lot of distress for a lot of people.”

Council leader Matt Boughton (Con) said: “I completely agree with you there.

“We see lots and lots of lists and sometimes you are going to get boxes that aren’t filled in (properly).

“This is a standard template that officers use. They put N/A, they should have put Yes.

“We just need to make sure than when proceeding with ANPR, we get the technology that is used in other local authorities that enables Blue Badge holders to continue to park for free.

“I don’t think this is a conspiracy in any way.”

It is unlikely that the council will find a method that gives Blue Badge holders the same freedom to park that they enjoy now.

Medway Council has introduced ANPR controls in some of its car parks. It has made provision for Blue Badge holders to park for free - if they register the number plate of their vehicle with the authority in advance. Only one registration number per disabled driver is allowed.

That is not the same as the current system.

Blue Badges are issued to individuals, not to vehicles, and currently if an able-bodied friend, neighbour, son, daughter or carer gives a disabled person a lift to the shops, the park or the hospital, they are legally entitled to use that person’s Blue Badge while they are travelling together.

In future, if TMBC follows Medways’s example, the disabled person may have to choose just one vehicle to ride in - and on other occasions pay up.

Canterbury City Council, however, does allow Blue Badge holders to register two vehicles, but again, they must be logged with the council in advance.