States disability champion has sights on High Street cobbles
TOWN’S cobbled High Street is inaccessible for wheelchair users – and the issue needs to be addressed, a deputy has said.
Environment & Infrastructure committee member Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, who is also the States’ disability champion, said it was important to keep the heritage value while ensuring accessibility.
The High Street could be the next area earmarked for improvements by Environment & Infrastructure, added Deputy Hansmann Rouxel in comments made at the official reopening of Market Street – where nearly £250,000 was spent to make the area more accessible.
‘The next big one will be the High Street,’ she said.
‘It’s a big project, but it needs looking at.’
The cobbled street has long proved difficult for wheelchairs, buggies and people with reduced mobility.
‘The trouble with getting up and down the High Street is that it’s cobbled and the pavements do not have dropped kerbs,’ Deputy Hansmann Rouxel said.
‘So if you want to access it, you need to have an iron will. People have an issue getting in and out of shops. How do we maintain the heritage value? The cobbles are really inaccessible if you are going down in a wheelchair.’
She said they had been looking across the UK and other locations to find possible solutions.
‘Cobbles are something that a lot of towns need to tackle or try to tackle,’ she said.
‘We need to keep the heritage value and make it accessible.’
Some towns have improved their accessibility with cobbles. The Dutch town of Breda turned its cobbles upside down and sliced them widthways, which makes for a smooth surface for wheelchairs and buggies.
Deputy Hansmann Rouxel said they needed to look at ideas, but also consider budgetary constraints.
She said she expected the scheme to be a capital project and she hoped it would move forward within the next five years.
