Labour criticise Lib Dem/Tory pact that scraps ramp plan for disabled

A Labour councillor has hit out at Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors who voted against a disabled ramp at Weston Town Councils offices, branding the decision as “regressive”.

The ramp was planned for the front of the council offices on Waterloo St to enable access for members of the public who required aeditional access needs.

However the proposal was turned down this week at the committee stage with Conservative & Liberal Democrat councillors joining forces to veto the plans in favour of forcing people with access needs to enter via a side entrance.

Weston Independent News understands that during decision making process, consultation was held with

West of England Centre for Inclusive Living, to ensure any ramp proposal met the needs of the local community.

Due to the nature of the building and its protected status the ramp was proposed to cost £80,000.

However, WIN has learnt that the ramp was already budgeted as part of the capital budget from the previous year but was short by £20,000 due to cost increases.

Based on the most recent set of audited accounts, Weston Town Council has £700,000 in reserves.

Cllr Ciaran Cronnelly, Labour councillor for Winterstoke ward and Leader of Weston Town Council said:

"The committee's decision to halt progress on a front access ramp at Weston Town Council is regressive. It denies residents with disabilities equal dignity when attempting to access their local council.

I strongly advocated for this ramp to proceed, and I am deeply saddened that Committee members from the Liberal Democrats (with the exception of Cllr Payne) and the Conservatives voted it down. If financial cost was the primary concern, the committee should have instructed officers to redesign the proposal and resubmit a planning application. Instead, they chose to scrap a front ramp entirely.

Offering people with disabilities an inadequate alternative is completely the wrong approach. This is a deeply disappointing outcome, and I hope the committee reflects on its impact and reverses course in the future. I urge any resident affected by this decision to write to their local councillor and ask them to push for this decision to be overturned."