Access ALL Areas: Today's Sheffield Star Article

Access ALL Areas: Today's Sheffield Star Article: Click image to read article

Council involvement

Well I know I've been silent for a while but hopefully the wind's changing!

I should have had a meeting with a chap from the council a couple of weeks back but due to him being ill a different chap came out today. He walked round the area with me and took lots of photographs. 

Having listened to me and seeing for himself the barriers I face,  Mr Kay seemed to say that despite not being able to change the whole "streets ahead" schedule, he would try to put my case forward.

Woohoo!! Results I hope!!

Patience is a virtue!

Im trying to be patient, as requested by councillor Jack Scott, but guess what? I can't wait till 2016 to be able to use the pavements safely!

I'm also waiting for a reporter to call me back from Calendar news and a solicitor from Irwin Mitchell to call at 2pm this afternoon. I'm hopeful that they'll agree to represent me against the council on a no win no fee basis.

So as you can see its patience all round and I've never been good at it! I'll have to embrace this new quality in order to get better at it! So will you too actually as we wait for news from all the above.

Going nowhere fast

Inactivity

I've had a letter from the Sheffield City Council which came after the Star article was published but referring to a call I made to them several weeks before. Basically the upshot is.....NOTHING!

The response said that all areas are scheduled to be improved and that schedule seems to be written in stone! They say that all roads are inspected regularly and made safe when needed. Well I say that stinks because, as you'll know from this blog, such an inspection took place at my request which resulted in......tiny, ineffectual patches in indiscriminate areas. Do I feel safe? "No"!

Now I need to reiterate that to them and insist that they ask me where feels unsafe. I refuse to wait till 2016

Today's Sheffield Star Article

Click image to read article

Media contact

Well usually I'm a total IT dinosaur but Simon a good friend from way back has supported me in getting this campaign on the internet.

Well you are reading my blog so you'll see what I mean. I began just putting my videos on Facebook but this blog will be so much better to direct folk to to explain the reason for my campaign.

Since my first complaint there has been some action! In the photo above you will see a new "patch" on the bottom right of the photo. The inspectors were sent by "Amey" who are contracted by Sheffield City Council to do the work. I offered to go out with them to show them the problem areas from my point of view but was declined. Hence these ridiculous, useless patches were placed wherever the inspectors had marked in yellow. 

I took the above photo on the day the Tarmac was placed yet look behind the patch!?!?!

Well today my campaign is in the Sheffield Star newspaper so hopefully the Council will start to get the idea. At the moment Jack Scott, local Counciller is saying "we are asking for the publics understanding" as the "streets Ahead"  project has a huge task!

I understand, do you? I understand that Sheffield City Council are failing their public duty under the Equality and Human Rights Act. Keep watching for hopefully some progress.

New Blog Communication

Today I have been busy writing to Disability News, Streets Ahead, Sheffield Star, MP Clive Betts, and Sheffield City Council with news of my news disability blog.

A Trip To The Shops

Take a trip to the shops with me, and and see why I asking Sheffield City Council to improve the pavements, and some drop kerbs in my area:

Making a start

Well quite a lot has happened up to now so I'll give you a précis before keeping you up to date with progress in realtime in the future.

So! I started by taking the videos and then contacted the "Streets Ahead" dept at Sheffield City Council to inform them that I was starting a campaign to get local pavements and dropped kerbs improved,from a safety perspective. I had,a few weeks before,fallen from my wheelchair as it tipped over and threw me head first due to the kerb.

They informed that they had no record of my earlier request for three specific dropped kerbs to be improved! (6 months earlier)! Since then I have corresponded with their sub contractors "Amey". 

The upshot is that their inspector has decided that the pavements and kerbs are ""safe for general public use" and so small patches on my road were marked and patched up. Anything else must wait till 2016 when our turn comes up in the bid to improve roads and pavements for the whole city.

This has left me livid and determined to challenge this, even legally if necessary, as I am a member of that public but clearly have not been considered in their decisions! So! I contacted the local councillor ( Jack Scott ) and the local Newspaper. "The Sheffield Star"

Simultaneously I put my videos and comments on Facebook for all my friends, and one video on YouTube called "Townend Trip". Please view it on there to push up the hits.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more as I'm hoping an article will be published in the Sheffield

Star tonight. 

Access All Areas

Hello and welcome to my first blog. I am a 50yr old wheelchair user as

A consequence of multiple sclerosis recently rendering me unable to walk. I am heading up a one woman campaign to fight for better disabled access,initially in my local area of Sheffield.(Gleadless Townend).

I've begun my campaign which has the logo below. I started by using my iphone to video the state of pavements and dropped kerbs from a wheelchair view. "Absolutely shocking"was the response of Facebook friends who saw the three videos. These blogs will take you through my actions and progress and failures as I attempt to prove that having pavements in such a state is a breach of the law (Equality and Human Rights Act) in that, if no improvements are made, then no "access to goods and Services" is being provided!

So as you can see I am going to be taking on the big guys and I'll need all the support I can get. Look in for episode 1 tomorrow.