A mum from Ladywell with a disabled daughter has been told that her daughter would need to drive a car herself in order to qualify for a parking permit outside their home.

Memuna Forna lives with her 22-year-old daughter Sia Lyn, who has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome which means after repeated seizures early in life, she has been left with brain damage.

Sia requires constant 24-hour care and the use of a car to be able to get safely from place to place.

However, Memuna was told by Lewisham Council that Sia would need to drive a car herself in order to receive a permit outside their home in Fossil Road which is in a controlled parking zone.

Memuna told the News Shopper: “From a happy, healthy toddler, Sia is now in a wheelchair, tube-fed and can no longer speak.

“She needs 24-hour one-to-one care, she can’t drive. I’m her carer providing all of her care needs.”

Disabled residents can apply for a free resident’s permit to park in the controlled zone that would otherwise be paid for by residents.

Memuma claims that when she first applied for a permit in 2019, she was refused a permit based on the fact that her daughter, the blue badge holder, was not the driver of the vehicle.

After she appealed the decision she was granted a permit and was advised that the decision was based on a “lack of evidence.”

In recent weeks, Memuna applied to renew the existing permit and said she was met with a similar response.

After sending a list of required documents, Memuna said that she was informed again that the pair were unable to receive a parking permit if the blue badge holder didn’t drive the vehicle.

In an email that Memuna shared with the News Shopper, she was told by a member of the Lewisham Parking Team that the blue badge holder “needs to be the driver of the vehicle to be issued with a disabled resident permit.”

A further email sent to Memuma included a copy of Lewisham Council’s policy, which at the time, stated “Blue Badge holders who live within a CPZ, and who drive a vehicle registered to their home address, may apply for a residents permit free of charge.”

Memuna felt “incredibly frustrated” by this and has said she feels that this decision is “discriminatory” for people in the borough who cannot drive due to their disability like Sia.

Memuna said: “It’s ridiculous and it honestly makes no sense.

“People with uncontrolled epilepsy, people who are unsighted, people with developmental difficulties like Sia, people with certain physical disabilities, will never be able to drive.

“These people who are prevented by their disabilities from being able to drive, Lewisham is saying they can't have a disabled resident's parking permit.”

In response, Memuna submitted a formal complaint which expressed her concern for the wording of the existing policy.

Memuna said that she received a letter from Lewisham Parking Team offering her a parking permit as “a gesture of goodwill”, and advising that she would need to apply in 12 months with the required evidence.

Memuna fears that the same could happen again when she has to apply in 12 months’ time and has said that the “substantive issue” was not addressed.

Lewisham Council has said that Memuna’s application hadn’t been successful due to not receiving the required evidence.

Memuna claims that she sent a list of required documents including a utility bill dated within the last three months, a Council Tax document, Motability agreement, motor insurance, and a copy of both sides of her daughter’s blue badge.

She added that she was confident that she had sent all the required information and believed that she was denied a permit based on her daughter’s inability to drive.

In a statement, Lewisham Council has said that blue badge holders with a vehicle registered to their home address are eligible for a free parking permit for that vehicle “regardless of whether they are the driver or not.”

They also confirmed that the wording of their current policy would be updated for clarification and would be confirming this with Memuna.

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The full statement from Lewisham Council statement said: “Blue badge holders who have a vehicle registered to their home address are eligible for a free disabled parking permit for that vehicle, regardless of whether they are the driver or not.

“We will be updating the wording of our current policy to ensure this is clear and will be clarifying this with the resident in question.

“At this stage, the evidence required to issue a disabled parking permit has not been provided by the resident.

“If the required evidence is provided and they meet the eligibility criteria, we will be able to issue them with a permit.”