Disabled bridge users lament lack of towpath ramp

A disability campaigner has joined users of wheelchairs and mobility scooters in criticising a new £4.2m footbridge in Long Eaton which does not offer full access to the canal towpath below.

The crossing which spans the Erewash Canal to link West Park with the town centre, was opened last month.

Wheelchair users are able to cross the bridge but there are steps leading to the towpath below which they can not access.

Erewash Borough Council said there was not enough space to install a ramp and the previous bridge also did not offer access to the path.

Raymond Burgess-Lowe, who uses a mobility scooter, said he had used the canal towpath for more than 70 years and he was disappointed he could not access it.

"It's put a lot of people off straight away [from using the bridge]. No thought has gone into it," the 84-year-old said.

"At my age now, we're not a minority, we're a majority of people with scooters."

The towpath can be accessed in two places on either side of the bridge but both points are about half a mile away from the bridge.

Dawn Worthington regularly walks her dog in West Park using her mobility scooter and after the bridge was opened she went to continue her dog's walk on the canal path but found she could not.

She also has chronic fatigue syndrome and therefore does not want to go the extra distance to get on to the towpath.

"I can access the towpath, but then if I want to come up here to do a park walk as well, then I've got to go back onto the street," she said.

Worthington added she wanted to spend time on the towpath because it was "tranquil" - and people with pushchairs were also losing out.

Amo Raju, from Derby, was chief executive of the Disability Direct charity for 30 years and was made an OBE for services to disabled people.

He said he was disappointed the bridge did not have a ramp to the towpath.

"It is a little bit unfortunate that in today's age after so many years of legislation to improve the rights of disabled people in accessing public spaces, that we are still having this conversation today - where disabled people are left out of something that mainstream society can access so easily," he said.

Government funding paid for the bridge as part of a £25m improvement scheme for Long Eaton.

Erewash Borough Council said a shortage of space prevented a ramp being built to the towpath.

"The bridge's dramatic sweeping curve was developed in response to the very limited space available on the Broad Street side of the canal," a council spokesperson said.

"The design was only possible thanks to the goodwill of a neighbouring landowner who agreed to make a small area of private land available, and the council is grateful for their support."

The spokesperson added the bridge was a "significant" improvement on the bridge it replaced.

"While the council would have welcomed a fully accessible ramped link to the towpath, and indeed considered it during the design process, any such ramp would have needed to meet strict accessibility and safety standards," the spokesperson added.

"This would have required substantially more land than was available at the site and could not have been accommodated safely."

"Accessible access to the towpath remains available nearby, a short distance from the bridge."

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