Disabled access row on seafront

Now Rona Cooke, who lives on West Parade, is asking if lack of access amounts to discrimination against the disabled.

Mrs Cooke, of Clock Tower Court, claims Rother District Council promised when work started there would be five places along West Parade with lowered kerbs so wheelchair users and disabled scooters are able to get onto the promenade.

It was expected these would be in place by October 2010.

However Mrs Cooke says there is only one lowered kerb, near the kiosk, and no lowered kerb have been provided where there is a corresponding one on the north side of the road. Conversely no kerb exists where there is a new lowered kerb on the promenade side.

In addition the ramp by the Clock Tower which led onto the promenade was also lost in May and has not been replaced.

She said: “Some of us disabled people have continually phoned both the council and East Sussex County Council and they both deny any knowledge of the matter and both say it is the other’s responsibility.

“Some of us moved to West Parade because there was plenty of access to the promenade, which was very nice then. It is not very nice now.

“Do Rother and ESCC know that it is against the law to discriminate against disabled people?”

Mrs Cooke said in her building, which has 34 flats, there are seven people who used mobility buggies.

She added: “So many people are concerned about the state West Parade has been left in.

“Work appears to have stopped and it is certainly not finished.”

RDC’s senior communications officer Dan Collins responded: “The design for the Next Wave scheme includes the introduction of drop off areas for those visiting the seafront at several points along West Parade, and at the Clock Tower.

“The original design allowed for these areas to incorporate dropped kerbs to allow access from the drop-off points to the promenade.

“All works on or adjacent to a public highway are audited to establish that they are safe and robust.

“On this occasion it was considered that the use of drop kerbs to one side of West Parade without a corresponding dropped kerb on the opposite side of the street would pose an unacceptable risk to pedestrians’ safety.

“To rectify this situation we are currently developing proposals exploring where dropped kerbs could be located on the northern side of the road. Other modifications may be required to the layout of the drop off points to ensure that pedestrians can cross safely.

“In the interim, full height kerbs have been installed to areas in question as a precautionary measure.

“This issue is considered a priority and Rother is working hard to find a solution which both facilitates pedestrian movement along the West Parade without compromising safety.”