Officials at City of York Council have defended the Blue Badge Ban and the £3.5M of anti-terrorism bollards currently being installed in the city centre.

Council chiefs have hit back after a parliamentary debate called by York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell saw a government minister warn the city council it had to maintain access to the city to the disabled, though he stopped short of the government taking action.

The defence of the council measures comes as City of York faces local council elections next month,  with the current Lib-Dem/ Green Coalition, who introduced the ban and bollards, facing a Labour opposition who pledge to reverse their imposition.

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A council spokesman said: “The decision was made in November 2021 by the Council’s Executive, recognising the duties of the council to create a safe, accessible and thriving city centre.

“We have consulted and listened to residents, businesses and local groups over the last couple of years, so we could take into account the many different voices when making decisions.”

The spokesman continued: “The council has a duty to protect the lives of residents and visitors. The risk of a hostile vehicle attack in the city centre, has been assessed under the guidance of National and Regional Counter Terrorism Officers and North Yorkshire Police. 

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“Counter-terrorism advised emergency vehicle access only to the protected area. The temporary measures have been put in place when the city was busiest, during the Christmas markets.

“The decision allows those temporary measures to be replaced by permanent measures which are less visually intrusive and can be controlled remotely without on-site staffing.”

As previously reported, leading councillors and police chiefs have stressed a need for such moves.

The spokesperson further said: “The National Threat level is currently at Substantial, meaning that a terrorist attack is likely. The city centre was, and continues to be, risk assessed by the Counter Terrorism Task Group and the area identified as most at risk was also assessed under the guidance of the Counter Terrorism Police, which included a national expert.

“In order to ensure the effectiveness of the security measures, it is essential that vehicular access to the city centre is kept to an absolute minimum during the vehicle restricted/ pedestrian priority hours.

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“In considering this duty, the Council has had to consider the Equalities Act and the Human Rights Act duties as the Council recognised early on the impact on disabled people by changing blue badge parking arrangements.

"That is why a separate action plan to improve city centre access was approved at the same meeting including the removal of remaining commercial exemptions for vehicular access (currently progressing through legal process prior to implementation).”

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The spokesman added: “Work commenced this week to start installing the measures and we will be discussing next steps with a new administration post-election.”