Croydon Council runs one of the most expensive Shopmobility schemes in the region, according to research by a disabled shopper.

Under new council proposals the price to use the service is set to triple for the first time in almost two decades, leaving users worried for the future of the scheme.

Under the new council plans the annual registration fee for the service will rise 300 per cent from £10 to £30.

Registered users who paid £1.50 for the day will now have to pay £4.30. Non-registered users will see an increase from £3 to £8.50.

According to service user Mandy Rowbottom’s calculations, if she was to go shopping once a fortnight for three hours at a time in Beckenham it would cost £25 a year for an annual subscription, with free parking for blue badge holders Bromley Shopmobility is totally free, Sutton would cost £166 a year and under the new proposals Croydon’s would be £219.80 annually.

The service is currently funded by Croydon Council who spent £33,000 on it last year and by Transport for London who gave £20,000 towards the cost of upgrading equipment. The service took just under £8,000 for the same year.

A spokesman for Croydon Council said: “The fees and charges associated with this service have not been increased since the operation has been controlled by parking services in the mid-90s.

“The increase will help pay for the continuation of the operation and the maintenance and replacement of mobility scooters for the coming years.”

Under the new proposals shoppers and visitors will see car parking prices frozen, yet residents will see a sharp increase to park outside their own homes with the introduction of a £25 administration fee for new permit applicants.

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CASE STUDY.

Mandy Rowbottom, 33, has severe arthritis and can only walk 50m.

Mrs Rowbottom, a new mother from Croydon, relies on the scheme to do her shopping.

Mrs Rowbottom said: “I am interested to know why this price hike has suddenly happened.

“Are the disabled shoppers in the borough an easy target for the council to get money from, as this is certainly the way it seems.

“It just feels like we, the disabled and elderly users of Croydon Shopmobility are bearing the brunt of Council cutbacks.

“Although we are only a minority of shoppers, we still do spend our money in the town centre and this would be not be feasible if the prices were increased so drastically.”

CASE STUDY 2.

Gillian Richardson, a retired hospital worker from Chipstead, thinks her independence will be taken away with the price increase.

Mrs Richardson, 64, said: “The scheme enables people to go out and do their own shopping, it gives them their independence.

“The price increase would have been OK, as long as they gave people notice and weren’t raising it by almost three times as much.

“I don’t think users would have minded so much if it was a small increase but this is just going to stop people using the scheme.

“If they have to pay more than £10 just to park and rent a wheelchair, it will kill the it.”