More disabled parking bays are being introduced in Hamilton despite opposition from store owners.

The City of Hamilton announced it would increase the number of disabled bays, from 45 to 73, to help cater for demand after more than 1,000 people applied for permits.

Dwayne Caines, the chief operating officer for the city, said: “There has been some pushback from retailers and, while we don’t take this lightly, it is important to understand that the disabled shopper can contribute greatly to the retail bottom line if they have access to parking.”

Ryan Gibbons, of A New Life, a group for amputees, said the move was a “great initiative”.

Mr Gibbons said: “Hopefully, they’ve added some bike bays to the additional parking allocations because that is a concern for the challenged community.”

He added he was “shocked and disappointed” by opposition to the increase.

Mr Gibbons said: “I’d like to know what their reasoning is so there could be some communication towards understanding the need and the positive social impact for the longevity of the island’s ageing residents.”

Mr Caines warned that the city authority also planned a crackdown on people who abused the disabled parking bay system.

He said: “It’s no secret that the disabled bays are already grossly abused by able-bodied motorists due to a lack of compassion, enforcement and any penalty. We’re hoping to rectify that in the new year.”

The city took part in the global Purple Tuesday campaign last month to highlight the importance of disabled people’s contributions.

Mr Caines said: “We live in an ageing society and with more and more people applying for the permits, current numbers stand at more than 1,000, we recognised that the 45 existing bays would need to be amplified, to better accommodate the needs of our disabled.

“The city is currently installing a further 28 disabled parking bays throughout the city, bringing the total number to 73, a mere 2 per cent of the total.”

Keith Simmons, the accessibility officer at the Ministry of Health’s Ageing and Disability Services, said: “The additional bays are in line with international disability standards in correlation to the number of disabled permits that are currently active.”