Restrictions barring Blue Badge holders from York city centre during the Christmas Market will not stop future events, a disability rights campaigner has claimed.
Campaigner Flick Williams said keeping the market’s tills ringing would always be the priority after senior councillors said the restrictions had put the festive event’s future in doubt.
Ms Williams added previous years showed there was no way around the restrictions as council officials look at ways to lessen the impact on those affected.
City of York Council deputy leader Cllr Pete Kilbane said they could not hold events that lock some people out of the city as efforts to find a solution remain ongoing.
It comes as council officials are currently working with North Yorkshire Police to find ways of allowing Blue Badge holders to access the city centre during the market.
It follows a decision from the council’s executive to approve a police request for an Anti-Terror Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO) which will be in force during the event.
All vehicles, except those belonging to the emergency services, will be barred from city centre streets already subject to hostile vehicle measures from Thursday, 13 November to Saturday, 21 December.
Restrictions will be in place from 10am to 7pm, the opening hours of the market, which is put on by events body Make It York.
North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Tim Forber has said the measures are needed to deter vehicle attacks which had targeted Christmas markets and other large gatherings elsewhere.
But disabled people told the council’s executive on Tuesday (7 October) the order would restrict their ability to shop and socialise in the city centre during the festive period.
Labour council leader Cllr Claire Douglas said the authority effectively had no choice but to approve the police’s request on Tuesday in the interests of public safety.
Cllr Douglas and Cllr Kilbane both told Tuesday’s meeting the authority would look at whether the event is held in the future if a long-term solution cannot be found.
But campaigner Ms Williams said recent years had shown there were no workable mitigations that would reinstate access for Blue Badge holders.
Last year’s market saw a similar access ban relaxed to allow Blue Badge holders onto some streets after 5pm.
Ms Williams added the Labour administration had agreed to restrict Blue Badge access during the market despite being elected on a pledge to reverse a year-round ban.
In 2023, Labour overturned a city centre Blue Badge parking ban brought in by the previous Liberal Democrat and Green coalition in 2021 in line with police counter-terror advice.
The campaigner said: “This was another airing of the old arguments, I accept the heightened terror risk but vehicle as weapon attacks are not the only threat so perhaps it shouldn’t be held at all.
“Do I believe Labour may cancel it from 2026? Put simply, no.
“Tills ringing is the priority, always.”
Council deputy leader and economy executive member Cllr Pete Kilbane said it was too early to say what the outcome of talks with the police would be.
He added officials were doing their utmost to find a positive solution.
The deputy leader said: “If measures can’t be put in place that allow all residents, including disabled residents, to attend major events safely, then the future of these events is in doubt.
“The council, Make it York and any other organisation cannot organise events that lock out a proportion of the city’s residents.”
