Monmouthshire Council has dialled back on its previous stance after The Chronicle challenged the body about its work to effectively remove accessible parking bays for disabled drivers in Abergavenny town centre.

A move earlier this year saw them literally redraw the lines in a section of Tiverton Place Car Park, which is reserved for drivers holding a blue badge. The council claimed this had increased the number of spaces available to drivers, which was technically true.

However, there was no hatched area left around the ‘new’ bays and they have been painted with white lines, just like regular parking spaces. As such, drivers have said they do not serve their intended purpose of providing better access to the town centre for disabled drivers.

When the issue was raised in the paper, a Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson stated, “there has been no reduction in the number of disabled parking spaces in Tiverton Place car park since 2020” and that enforcement was carried out to ensure the spaces remained reserved for those with a blue badge.

Now, four months after The Chronicle first published an article on the issue, the council has finally decided that relining works will take place to address the situation. In fact, the work will now take place as soon as next week.

The relining work means on Monday June 22 and Tuesday June 23 there will be temporary measures in place. Blue badge bays will be closed on Monday, and normal access for blue badge holders will return after work is completed on Tuesday.

In a remarkable U-turn, the work has now been described as “essential.”

On a recent visit to the site, Peter Fox MS said he would be writing to the council to ask for the wider spaces to be reinstated.

“Despite what Monmouthshire County Council have previously said, there has been a reduction in the number of wide access disabled spaces in the car park,” Mr Fox said.

“The work has seen several of these spaces removed, and replaced by a few extra regular bays, which doesn’t seem to make much sense to me at all, as its causing significant inconvenience for users.”

“I will write to Monmouthshire County Council to gain some clarity on this issue, and to ask for the wider spaces to be reinstated.”

In his letter to Cllr Paul Griffiths, the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development at County Hall, the Conservative MS branded the whole situation as “strange” and that he, alongside drivers in the town, were “at a loss” as to why the effective removal of accessible bays had been ordered.

“Disabled drivers simply cannot use these bays effectively,” said Ben Carter, who met with Mr Fox this week at the car park.

“There is no longer an area around the spaces that enable drivers to access their vehicles,” he explained.

“Disabled drivers need to be able to open the doors of their cars wider than an average person and some may need to transfer from wheelchairs but they are now unable to do that.”

The nature of the work was also criticised. The old yellow lines are visible in the middle of the new parking bays that have been painted by Monmouthshire Council, leaving drivers confused about which lines they are supposed to park in.

After doubling down to The Chronicle earlier this year, Monmouthshire Council has been asked why it has now changed its position.