ABOUT 100 people turned up to a debate about disabled parking bays in Worcester city centre being replaced with a taxi rank.

Five new designated disabled bays are to be created in the Cornmarket car park while the city council is going to ask the county council, as the highways authority, to review disabled parking provision in Worcester city centre as a matter of urgency.

While those concessions have been made, blue badge holders are still not happy with the situation and campaigners have vowed to keep the fight going until the decision to replace 11 disabled bays in St Swithin’s Street with an eight-bay taxi rank is revoked.

Speaking immediately after councillors voted in favour of an amendment they hoped would act as a peace deal, Ron Chambers of Worcestershire Pensioners’ Action Group, which is leading the fight on behalf of blue badge holders, said: “They still haven’t given us anything. All they think about is the taxis. This is not finished.”

Brian Hunt, also of Worcestershire Pensioners’ Action Group, said: “We are disappointed with the outcome. We didn’t expect much more from the Conservatives but there’s more to come.”

Taxi drivers were much happier, though, as they say the introduction of the new taxi rank has helped to ease congestion in St Swithin’s Street and the Cross.

The Worcester News has previously reported how 11 new blue badge spaces have been created at the Cornmarket, the Trinity and the Cross in return for taking away the bays in St Swithin’s Street.

But blue badge holders are not happy with that as they say the new spaces are not in as convenient locations for users to get to banks and shops. As a result Mr Chambers and Mr Hunt handed in a petition signed by blue badger holders and supporters to Worcester’s Mayor Councillor David Tibbutt at the beginning of Wednesday night’s meeting which had to be moved out of the council chamber and into the upper hall because so many people had turned up.

After taxi drivers and the pensioners’ action group voiced their opinions, a heated debate between ruling Conservative and opposition Labour councillors got under way.

Labour Councillor Joy Squires tabled an amendment asking for the scheme to be reversed but that was modified by Conservative backbencher Councillor Chris Mitchell.

Labour members reluctantly went along with his proposals to ask the county council to review disabled parking provision in Worcester city centre as a matter of urgency and get the city council to provide five extra spaces for blue badge holders in the Cornmarket car park as they said it was better than nothing.