Disabled teen's dropped kerb bid for 'independence'

A disabled teenager is urging a council to listen to people with accessibility issues as he battles to secure vital changes to the pavement near his home.

Jack, 14, from Everton, who was born with cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair, said he wants to get his "independence back" as he lobbies Liverpool city council to install dropped kerbs near his home, so he is able visit a shop nearby.

He launched a campaign to install dropped kerbs along the route after being told by the authority that no changes were planned in the area.

A Liverpool city council spokesperson said while they did not currently have capacity to do this, they would consider future requests "where funding permits".

Jack contacted the local authority in December in a bid to make changes to the route between Landsdowne Place and Breckfield Road North for those who use wheelchairs and scooters like him, so they do not have to go into the road and can remain on the pavement.

After being told the council had no plans to alter the route, he has set up a formal petition he hopes to submit to them.

It asks for dropped kerbs to be installed from Mere Lane to Rash's Convenience Store on Breckfield Road North and describes them as a "basic and well-established accessibility feature".

The petition said having to go into the road places him and others at "significant risk to oncoming traffic and prevents him from moving about his local area with the independence and dignity other young people take for granted".

Jack said: "I'm turning 15 and I want to be able to go to the shops on my own and get my independence back. It's really hard for me, I have to go into the road sometimes.

"I sent a letter to the council but they didn't reply at first. Then they said there were no future works in the area.

"I was really upset and I was really trying to get this done. I have a visual impairment so I can't see sometimes when I'm moving."

Jack's campaign has been bolstered by the support of users and staff at The Breckfield Centre he has been attending for the past five years.

Paul Robinson Jr, youth and community officer at Breckfield & North Everton Neighbourhood Council Ltd, said: "As he's [Jack] getting older, he wants to have his independence, he just wants to go to the shop."

The council spokesperson said they recognised the importance of dropped kerbs in helping people move around their communities independently.

"While requests for new dropped kerbs are considered where funding permits, we do not currently have the capacity to deliver additional installations outside of planned works during this financial year," they said.

Suggestions from residents would, however, be taken into account as future programmes of work were developed, they added.

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