Public buildings fall short for the disabled (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Public buildings fall short for the disabled

DISABLED campaigners have hit out at Cotswold District Council after a report revealed less than a third of public buildings have disabled access.

The damning report, published by the Audit Commission, showed the Cotswold area only had 28.6 percent of council buildings open to the public accessible to people with disabilities, instead of the 100 percent required by the Disabled Discrimination Act (DDA).

And in an area where one in ten of the population is over 75 and 8.75 percent are classified as permanently sick or disabled many people have branded these new figures unacceptable.

Doris Land, chairman of the Cirencester and South Cotswold Access Group, said: "I don't think enough pressure is put on people to comply. How can they expect people in shops to comply when the government do not comply."

Mrs Land added: "I do think the council could be doing a lot more."

CDC spokesman Claire McGine said: "The problem is a high proportion of the buildings are listed.

"That is why with some of the buildings if we want to change something then we need permission from the English Heritage and our own planning officers."

"Recently we applied to have a ramp put in at the Corn Hall but that was turned down by the Heritage."

The low percentage is actually an improvement on recent years. In the 2003/04 report showed the Cotswold only had 16.7 percent.

However, the £5m refurbishment of the Corinium Museum in August 2004 raised the compliance level to its current amount.

The Act was passed in September 1995 making it compulsory for all councils to have disabled access to all of the public buildings. It came into force in Oct 2004.

And despite having had 11 years to do so, only two out of the 45 councils in the South West Region have so far achieved total disabled access.

CDC has even admitted it may never be able to fulfil the requirements of the DDA.

Mrs McGine added: "I don't know if we will ever get 100 percent. It will be too difficult because of the listed building aspect, but we will get it as high as we can. We are still very actively working on access for disabled people."