Yes there is access further up Church Hill, but that means going through a ‘pinch point’ at the crossing where the pavement is at its busiest. The access up Quay Street is extremely difficult for pushchairs,let alone wheel chairs as the pavements and road are narrow and a lot of traffic uses that road to access Church Square.

Ray’s cost breakdown brings it very much into perspective and I for one applaud the action taken to provide better access for the disabled, I wonder why you are so negative.

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The new granite ramp will probably last several hundred years … bringing the cost down to about threepence halfpenney per week

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Whats next? the steps by costa leading to the arcade because the existing wheelchair access is too far away? how about a ramp leading from the top of the high street down to the seafront by the candy shop?

I’m all for making it easer for disabled access however when there are already adequate methods very close by.

I feel the time/money could have been better spent else where (maybe making a different part of town more accessible.

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Good luck for the future:-)

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That sounds just the sort of job local banks or the bigger companies like to take on as a community project

They’d probably get your path fixed in a day, or at least in a weekend

Any bankers reading this?

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All future Social housing will be disability compliant and it costs no more to put in wider door ways for better wheel chair access, than it does a conventional standard door. We made it one of our conditions so it wasn’t left just to the planning officers to decide.

There is still sadly a huge amount of stigma attached to those with disabilities, it is improving but none the less there is a long way to go before there is the kind of level playing field that will allow people the same quality of life as all able bodied people enjoy.

The “does he take sugar” syndrome is sadly still there and my wife who is a carer for H&SSD, comes across it now and again when she is out and about with those she assists in their daily lives.

The GDA does a huge amount of work advising departments like mine on how to improve internal and external spaces for the disabled and in my view they should be properly funded in order that they can do more to improve the lives of many.

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We expect the need for education to raise awareness to be part of the proposed States Disability Strategy, certainly. It is not enough on its own though. I know you aren’t suggesting it should be, but some people do. Education needs to be underpinned by a simple disabilty equality law.

The key benefit of a law is not the ability to take cases to court or tribunal. We actually don’t anticipate there being many. The key benefit is that it jumpstarts organisations into amending their poilicies and procedures and seeking out the training you speak of.

Hi Dani

Happily the grandfather clause you are seeking already exists. Guernsey’s Building Regulations include an accessibility section called Part M which covers all new builds, plus extension, alteration or change of use of non-domestic buildings.

In addition, the Guernsey Housing Association, in partnership with the Housing Dept, has gone a stage further. All of their new builds are now designed to Lifetime Homes Standard. This means they can easily be adapted as people’s mobility needs change.

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I hope people will come forward with their experiences and, I wish you and your colleagues every success with the Disability Strategy.

In my case, I did not find the experience denigrating, I am one of the very fortunate beings who have regained full use of my legs, I was take slightly taken aback by the lack of ‘education’ displayed by the shops’ staff. Maybe this angle in general could also be considered for your Green Paper.

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You’ve pinpointed the key difference in between disability and other ‘protected characteristics’ like age, race, gender etc. Which is that disabled people may need consideration of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to achieve equality. Might be a ramp, might be adjusted working hours, might be large print.

But all must pass the *reasonable* test.

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This is when in some situations an old rule continues to apply while a new rule will apply to future situations.

I think of what happened in Japan. With all the trouble they had with the earthquakes they needed to upgrade the buildings to cope with seismic activity. What they said is when you rebuild you must upgrade to code but existing properties do not need to because of the cost.

Our buildings are not going to be destroyed in an earthquake but over time it seems reasonable that when amendments and new builds are made that being accessible to the disabled is enabled.

There has been good work done by the St Peter Port Douzaine. They are altering their premises and will be becoming disability accessible. Didn’t they also just put in a ramp instead of steps out side the Albion? It was fitting with the area and cost appropriate. I think they did a lovely job.

I don’t see why anyone would object to further adjustments like those being made. I think these types of adjustments are those that could be focused on for improving town for disabled people. I really hope to see them being made and being worked on.

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Article 8 of the human rights law says you have right to enjoy living peacefully in a home without disturbance of the public authorities. No prevention of you living in that home is allowed without very good reason.

Public authorities are only allowed to intervene on a few circumstances. The one in your way is that the consideration of other laws must be taken into account. I/e the planning law.

The planning process does not allow or even factor in consideration of access to the equal right of being able to continue living in ones own home undisturbed when disabled.

It is said that public authorities should not discriminate against a group of people under article 14 in reference to another article (The one in question being 8).

As As the process does not consider disability I think it is in contravention with those articles and needs to be changed. Perhaps someone with more knowledge/authority can confirm this and hopefully add weight to yours and Mr Millns cause.

What I suggest is getting in touch with all the deputies that supported you when they were getting elected and discuss how the planning process can be changed. I know one or two of them want it edited for other reasons so you have a higher chance of success this way.

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The problem with the word discrimination is that it automatically makes people think of an act that is deliberately unfair.

Whereas in many cases, it’s something that happens unconsciously with no deliberate attempt to treat others unequally. But the person on the receiving end still feels its effects.

Thank you for raising this. As mentioned to Martino above, the Guernsey Disability Alliance is currently collecting stories such as yours to use as examples in the run up to the Disability Strategy going to the States for approval next year.

If anyone else would like to share their experience, feel free to do so here, or email info@disabilityalliance.org.gg. Positive stories welcome, not just the bad stuff – can learn from both.

We have a Facebook page so if anyone wants to follow our work in promoting equality for disabled people in Guernsey, why not give us a ‘like’?And if you’d like to become a member of the GDA, just let us know using the email address above.

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Was working on a document yesterday and was looking for a quote like this. Wanted something that would sum up why disabled people cannot purely rely on the goodwill of their fellow islanders to break down the barriers to being included in society that they face every day.

You’ve nailed it. Thank you.

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