Nottingham leads the way with the highest percentage of parent-child parking bays

Mums Tips

Travel with kids

Published on Thursday, 09 December 2021 10:31

Last Updated on 09 December 2021

Monica Costa

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Findandfundmycar.com has reached out to every city council in England to discover which cities have the highest percentage of spaces specifically for Blue Badge holders, and also to find out which cities offer the highest percentage of parent-child spaces in their council-run car parks.

It’s Nottingham City Council that leads the way for having the highest percentage of child friendly spaces, with 3.11% of spaces being specifically for parents with small children.

While this number isn’t huge, there were 16 city councils that responded to the Freedom of Information request saying that they offer zero spaces, including Southampton City Council, Manchester City Council and Southampton City Council.

Rachel Bloom, Strategist and parent at Foundation, says:

“I appreciate parent-child spaces so much and often look out for them when I take my little boy out to do something small like the weekly shop, or meeting up with friends for a coffee. I have a one-year old and getting him in and out of the car is actually hard work, especially when I’m alone. I like to have the space around me for his pram, and to make sure that I’m not squeezing him through a tiny gap in the door while also trying to avoid slamming my car door into the car next to me. Parking in a normal space sometimes just doesn’t have the space that I need.”

As well as looking at parenting spaces in council-run car parks, findandfundmycar.com also looked into the most accessible car parks based on the highest percentages of Blue Badge spaces available.

Chelmsford has the highest percentage of Blue Badge spaces against regular car parking spaces in England, with a huge 21.67% of spaces being for Blue Badge holders specifically.

It isn’t a close second, however. With just 7.52% of spaces being specifically for Blue Badge holders in Plymouth; the second highest English city.

The full list of the most parenting-friendly parking amongst English city council run car parks is available on the findandfundmycar.com page here, as well as the full list of the highest and lowest Blue Badge percentages by English city.