Matchday Sees Disabled Bay Taken over by e-Bikes
Inglethorpe Street resident's delight at being given space proves shortlived
The bay during a recent fixture at Craven Cottage
September 30, 2026
A Fulham resident was delighted when she was recently given a personalised disabled parking bay near her home.
However, since the start of the football season a serious access problem is developing for the space on Inglethorpe Street. On match days at Craven Cottage, hire bikes and privately owned bicycles are filling the bay.
Catherine O’Sullivan, who lives with disabilities and cares for her elderly mother, was initially “absolutely delighted” when Hammersmith & Fulham Council granted her a numbered disabled bay. Parking in the neighbourhood is notoriously difficult, particularly on match days, and the bay was intended to guarantee safe access between their vehicle and front door. Instead, she says, the space has become unusable whenever bikes are left beside it or directly across the pavement.
The problem began almost immediately. During a recent match, she returned home to find the bay blocked by ebikes. Unable to move them herself — “these bikes are incredibly heavy and because of my own disabilities I simply don’t have the strength” — she was forced to stop her car in the middle of the road until a passerby helped shift the bikes onto the pavement. That solved one problem but created another: the pavement was then obstructed, leaving no safe route for her mother, who uses a wheelchair, oxygen equipment and other mobility aids.
The bay and pavement are being blocked by hire bikes from multiple operators, as well as private bicycles. “Had I arrived home to that situation I would have been seriously distressed,” she said. “Where exactly is a disabled person supposed to go when they arrive at their own home and cannot safely use the disabled space provided for them?”
The issue is not confined to match days. Bikes have been left beside the bay throughout the week, she says, making access unpredictable and often unsafe. During the most recent incident, her sister contacted Lime, who arranged for a van to remove their bikes — but by the time help arrived, the immediate access problem remained. Attempts to reach Forest were unsuccessful.
Privately-owned bicycles also contribute to the problem
She has now raised the matter with Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Fulham FC, Lime and Forest, arguing that disabled residents should not be left to identify bike operators, make phone calls and wait for removal teams. “The access needs to be kept clear in the first place,” she said. “A disabled bay isn’t accessible simply because a car can technically fit between the painted lines. If bikes are left alongside it or on the pavement so that somebody cannot open their doors properly, get a wheelchair or oxygen equipment out, or reach their own front door, then that disabled bay has effectively been made unusable.”
After we requested comment from Forest about the case, the company said that it had now desginated the entire street as a no parking area and spoken directly to Catherine O'Sullivan
A spokesperson for H&F Council said the authority had raised the issue with Lime and increased enforcement this season. “If any unauthorised bike or car is parked in a personalised Disabled bay, please email Parking.Enforcement@lbhf.gov.uk and we will respond,” they said. The council also pointed to recent consultations on new rental ebike and escooter bay locations, including around football stadiums, with further rounds planned.
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