On the up-side my new Blue Badge arrived this afternoon, only 5 1/2 weeks after I applied – which is fine. The blurb says re-apply 12 weeks before it runs out, which I did, so no worries there regarding the renewal process.
Only gripe with it is that it’s only valid for 18 months, rather than the usual 3 years, because my PIP is up for reassessment (oh joy) in 2023. Assuming (Ha!) the PIP actually gets renewed, the Blue Badge peeps will then get to sting me for another tenner. \_o_/