Seafront issue on dropped kerbs lasts 12 months

DISABLED access to West Parade has been limited for a year according to a Bexhill resident

Rona Cooke says wheelchair or scooter users have been forced to travel up to the west end of the promenade, near the public toilets, before they are able to get on.

Now Rona is pleased that East Sussex County Council is tackling the problem and the Highways Department has marked out two crossing places on either side of the Clock Tower.

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The 89-year-old says access to West Parade had been denied since May bank holiday last year and the ramp was taken away when the shelter near the Clock Tower was demolished.

Rona, of Park Avenue, said: “It is not just the old people on their scooters, of which I am one, it is younger people too with ordinary wheelchairs who have problems. Lots of people are affected.”

However, she fails to see how the new provisions will work and wonders if the road will need to be narrowed.

“We don’t get any information out of anyone. And when we think we have got it, someone else contradicts it,” she added.

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She also highlighted the lack of dropped kerbs in Egerton Road and said that wheelchair users would still not be able to get to Bexhill Museum, Egerton Park or the Children’s Centre, or come back, and described this as “ridiculous”.

An ESCC spokesman said, “Kerbs are a barrier to the mobility of many people and we recognise how important dropped kerbs are for those that rely on them to access shops and services.

“We get hundreds of requests for dropped kerbs, and I hope you will appreciate we have to prioritise our work to make sure our funds are used at sites where they are most needed.

“I am pleased to say this site is already on our list of requests to be assessed this year.”