Woman day out 'ruined' after there was no disabled parking left at major venue

A disabled pensioner says her day out to the circus was "ruined" after hospitality staff told her to go to a car park with no spaces.

Shehnaz Somjee, who lives in Melling, was looking forward to seeing Cirque: The Greatest at the Bank Arena, on Saturday, October 5. But her plans were put to a halt after there were no disabled parking spaces at the Kings Dock car park.

The retired doctor said at M&S Bank Arena recommended the car park, but when she arrived, there were no spaces for Blue Badge holders. The ex-EMT consultant said she forked out £35 on a ticket for the show and other related costs but didn't even get to watch it.

READ MORE:

Speaking about the mishap, she said: “I arrived in good time with half an hour to go before the started. I went to the Kings Dock park, there was not a single space of any description available. The two cars in front of me drove out as well, as they couldn’t find anywhere to park.

“There were a large number of reserved for electric cars to charge compared to disability parking. There was no room, and there was no attendant to help me. It was chock-a-block, I drove around for over an hour. The show had now started, and I missed the start of it. I had to go home, the ticket went to waste, and my day was ruined. I really wanted to see the show. I was very upset and disappointed that day. I’m put off going to that part of Liverpool now because of parking issues.”

The Bank Arena confirmed that recommending the King’s Dock car park is their usual procedure when questioned about parking, but it said it was owned and operated by Liverpool City Council. The spokesperson added: “We recommend the car park to our customers as it is the closest to our venue and fully accessible with over 80 spaces."Whilst we cannot comment on the car park operations, we are sorry to hear that the customer was unable to attend the show and would encourage them to get in touch with us directly by email.”

Shehnaz was going alone to the show. She has a chronic disease which impacts her mobility, particularly her balance, and said this often causes her to fall over, . She usually walks with either a or a four-wheel walker. Shehnaz said the lack of human involvement in the online complaint process only frustrated her further. The City Council said Kings Dock staff were "not aware of any complaints on disability access" with the car park in question.