Woman's day out 'ruined' after what happened at city car park

Shehnaz Somjee is a blue badge holder
-Credit: (Image: Shehnaz Somjee)


A woman said her day out was ruined after her recent experience at a car park in the city. Shehnaz Somjee, who lives in Melling, said she was excited to see Cirque: The Greatest Show at the M&S Bank Arena on Saturday, October 5.

However, when the 71-year-old, originally from Pakistan, arrived at the Pier Head, she was quickly disappointed. The retired doctor, who has lived in Merseyside for 40 years, said there were no disabled parking spaces available at the Kings Dock car park, after she claims she was advised to go there by staff at the M&S Bank Arena.

The former EMT consultant, who paid £35 for the ticket and the extra charges involved for the show, told the ECHO: “I arrived in good time with half an hour to go before the show started. I went to the Kings Dock car 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.

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“There were a large number of spaces 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 M&S 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 accessible spaces.

Shehnaz Somjee's chronic condition impacts her balance
Shehnaz Somjee's chronic condition impacts her balance -Credit:Shehnaz Somjee

"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 and is a blue-badge holder. 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 crutch or a four-wheel walker.

Shehnaz said the lack of human involvement in the online complaint process only frustrated her further. When the Liverpool ECHO approached the City Council for comment it said Kings Dock staff were "not aware of any complaints on disability access" with the car park in question.