Shropshire Council has announced a 12-week grace period for Blue Badge renewals following a sharp rise in demand and ongoing funding pressures from central government.
Applications for Blue Badges in Shropshire have significantly increased over the last five years, reflecting an ageing population and greater awareness of eligibility. Over the same period, government funding for local authorities has reduced significantly, leaving councils to manage rising demand with fewer resources.
The council recognises that this has led to unacceptable delays for some residents who rely on a Blue Badge to maintain their independence and access essential services.
To support residents while improvements are put in place, the council will introduce a 12-week grace period for existing Blue Badge holders who apply to renew before their badge expires. During this period, expired badges will continue to be recognised while applications are processed.
In addition, the council is recruiting an extra member of staff to the Blue Badge team to increase capacity and speed up decision-making, helping to restore a reasonable and reliable service for residents.
Councillor Alex Wagner, Shropshire Council’s deputy leader, said:
“Blue Badges are vitally important for mobility and independence. Due to a significant growth in the number of applications over the last few years, processing times have been badly impacted, and we have decided we need a change in approach to deal with this.
“We are taking action by introducing a 12-week grace period for renewals from the Blue Badge’s expiry date. Our aim is to deliver a fair and reasonable service that residents can rely on. We have also hired an additional member of staff to help us process applications more quickly.
“In practice, this means Shropshire Council will allow the continued use of the expired Blue Badge for 12 weeks after the Blue Badge expiry date only on Shropshire Council car parks and our other Council locations. The grace period commences today (Thursday 12 March 2026).
“This is not a perfect fix, but we hope it will go some way to ensuring resident’s entitled to a Blue Badge can maintain their independence and access council car parks and facilities across our markets towns and villages.”
The council continues to press the government for sustainable long-term funding for local services, including statutory schemes such as Blue Badges, to ensure that growing demand can be met properly in future.
Alex added:
“Despite an increase in applications and limited resources, our current processing time for a Blue Badge is 11 weeks, which is the shortest it has been for quite a while.”
Residents are reminded to apply for their renewal in good time – 12 weeks or more – before their Blue Badge expires and to ensure all supporting information is provided to avoid further delays.
Residents are further reminded that penalty charge notices will still be issued for other parking contraventions and where a Blue Badge is not being used correctly (e.g. time clock usage). This local arrangement does not apply to parking locations operated by private business owners, for example Barker Steet car park in Shrewsbury, who are entitled to set their own rules and could still enforce charges for outdated Blue Badges.
More information about Blue Badges is available in person through our Shropshire Local team Shropshire Local – Shrewsbury | Shropshire Council. Please bring supporting documents with you as this will best help the team to provide timely support to you. Information about how to apply is also available on the Shropshire Council website Apply for or renew a Blue Badge | Shropshire Council
Applications received per year
- 2020/21: 6,290
- 2021/22: 7,186
- 2022/23: 8,604
- 2023/24: 8,763
- 2024/25: 9,319
