DISABLED town goers in Cirencester said they felt ignored by the town council with regards to the development of the Market Place.

This comes after assurances by Cirencester Town Council that disabled groups, particularly the blind, had been consulted with.

At a Retail Forum in October last year, town mayor Mark Harris said that as a result of a consultation with these groups, the kerbs had been raised to make it easier for the visually impaired.

At a town council meeting in January, chief executive officer Andrew Tubb said he had committed to a number of access groups and raised concerns with blue badge vehicle access.

He said the town council had been led to believe that blue badge holders could park in the regenerated Market Place, a claim which Gloucestershire County Council denied.

After it was evident that this was not the case, he said the town council was working with Gloucestershire County Council to ensure blue badge holders could access facilities in town.

Anne Glennie, of upper Siddington, who suffers from a crushed spine and arthritis on her knee, however, complained that the town council refused to speak to her on the phone about her concerns with the Market Place.

She said: “I left three messages previously and they never came back to me. I rung up and got through to the chief executive officer and was told no, if I have anything to say, I can put it in writing. He refused to speak to me.”

Anne said the regeneration scheme was “disastrous”, explaining that she was unable to park near shops like House of Fraser and that the Market Place was a tripping hazard.

She said: “I can’t reach the shops in the town centre. One time, I tried, I fell over at the kerb. My husband has fallen over twice in the Market Place. Last time he hurt himself badly, he was covered with bruises everywhere.”

She also said that the lower kerbs in the town centre meant that guide dogs, who are trained to recognise kerbs, were “completely lost”.

Mary Ludbrook, a resident from Bibury who is only able to control one side of her body, said she had to drive several laps before she was able to park near where she wanted to go.

She agreed that she did not feel heard by the town council. When she approached the council last year, she said that the town council’s officer “was not very interested because I did not live in Cirencester.”

She also reiterated the concern that guide dogs did not understand where the road and the kerb was.

She said that it would be far more beneficial to put disabled bays in, and suggested taking away the extended pavement from outside House of Fraser, as well as taking away the loading bay.

Chief executive officer Mr Tubb however refuted claims that the town council refused to speak to complainants.

He explained: “Where people have been popping in with specific concerns about the town centre works, we have been asking for this to be put in writing.

“This is important as it provides a useful evidence base ahead of the next phase of independent road safety audits which are to be carried out.

“I personally take the time to respond to various queries and from time to time will meet with individuals because the town council does take these concerns seriously.

“We fully understand that some people prefer things to stay the same, however, the scheme being delivered forms an important part of Our Future Cirencester this is a community led process which has been consistently endorsed by the local community.

“One of the key aims of the scheme was to make the historic core of the town less dominant of vehicles.

Cotswold District Council has recently provided improved facilities for blue badge holders within ease of reach of the shops (e.g. The Forum). A number of loading/unloading bays have been provided within the restricted parking zone to service local businesses."

Nigel Riglar, director of communities and infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “These are Cirencester Town Council’s redevelopment plans and the county council has been doing our best to support them in pursuing them.

“During the initial planning stages we made recommendations to the town council on some areas that we felt needed further consideration, and worked with them to help resolve these issues.

“We will continue working with local partners to monitor the situation and will help Cirencester Town Council to make any necessary changes to its Market Place improvement scheme.”