Council denies family aid (From Stroud News and Journal)

Council denies family aid

A MOTHER with a terminally ill disabled son has been refused a disabled parking bay outside her home by Gloucestershire County Council.

Cheryl Bodenham lives at Folly Lane with her husband Andrew and their 13-year-old son Owen, who suffers from Downs Syndrome and Leukaemia.

A disabled registered Renault Laguna is used to ferry Owen, currently undergoing chemotherapy, around but it is too big for the couple's driveway so they rely on being able to park either side of the gateway.

But often drivers take up these spaces all day and the Bodenhams are forced to park away from their home.

The situation has worsened since the county council painted on yellow lines down the road.

Mrs Bodenham said: "It just means now that people park further up the street even more and we just can't get our cars in and out."

"It's getting intolerable because he's a big lad and there's no way I can carry him. It's unfair on him when he has to walk to get to his own house when he's struggling anyway." The council will not provide a disabled bay because it maintains the couple have off-street parking.

It has agreed to paint keep clear markings but only at the couples' cost.

A county council spokesman said: "We have looked into this case and appreciate Mrs Bodenham's difficulties. However, we can only put a disabled space on the road where a resident has no off-road parking. This lady has got off-road parking, so we could put Keep Clear markings on the road to make her access to her drive easier, but she would have to pay for this herself.

"There is no easy solution to moving the parking problem on. Ultimately we hope that the further we move it out of town, the more likely people are to use the public parking, but we can't force them."