Complaints that beaches in Ryde are inaccessible for people with mobility issues have led to a major bid for accessibility improvements.
Proposals to make a stretch of Ryde beach accessible to wheelchair users and people who struggle with mobility were seen at the Ryde Town Council meeting on Monday.
Following consultation with Isle Access and Unlimited Island, the town council is proposing key improvements including:
- The installation of a non-slip polyester mat — creating a route on the sand towards the sea
- Beach and water wheelchairs and beach walkers people would be able to hire
- 2 accessible beach huts
- Wheelchair-friendly picnic tables
- Raised sunbeds
Further consultation with the Isle of Wight Council is needed, the town council says, to determine the exact location of the accessible stretch of beach.
To fund the improvements, Ryde Town Council has applied for £10,000 from a South Western Railway fund which promotes accessibility and inclusion projects.
The Town Council said the railway company favours applications which have match funding, so agreed at its meeting on Monday to either match the £10,000 or 30% of the total cost – but at the same meeting decided to reduce Christmas festivities in the town.
If the latter is chosen, the Town Council said it would look for other partners to fund the project.
Mayor Michael Lilley said accessibility to beaches was something the council had wanted to achieve for a long time, so the potential grant funding would help do that.
Sandown Town Council, in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council and the Sandown Beach Lifeguards, has recently launched all-terrain wheelchairs. The wheelchairs can be borrowed, for a £20 refundable deposit, and help people with mobility issues reach the sand and sea.
There are plans to expand the scheme next year.
Perhaps today it would be fitting to end comments on the excellent articles on here, and have only comments re the Queens sad passing
Yes it is sad, for the whole country and most of the world, but how many times do you want to read it and be reminded of her death ??
I am heartily fed up with all of these proposals regarding ‘disabled access’!
Sorry, it is time that CERTAIN people accepted that not everything is available to EVERYONE!
What a sad attitude you have
It’s about time IW Council made pavements accessible for persons with
Mobility issues.
There are always vehicles parked on the pavement outside the Council Houses along
Great Preston Road, Ryde, very frustrating when trying to get along in mobility scooter.
It’s about time the Council banned persons from Parking on Pavements.
Some people are idiots and selfish.
It is the working people of Britain needing vans etc who ‘keep’ the costly disabled in comfort.
So with their disability state paid for new cars parked up all day, then many workers have to park on pavements.
Odd you have an issue with council housing when you yourself occupy just across the road.
Pavements are for persons to walk along safely, not so idiots with a lack of brains can park on Pavements obstructing pedestrian access.
The Council need to place Double yellow lines along Great Preston Road and
Tow away any vehicle who unlawfully parks on pavements.
Only Emergency services should have the right to Park on Pavements
Not Bob the Builders etc.
Selfish does cut both ways. Disabled people have all the time in the world to go about their daily business, whereas workmen have to be at certain jobs at certain times.
Also they have to unload heavy, cumbersome items into properties.
With streets now filled with second car owners whereby one partner is always home, and the increased amount of disabled mobility cars parked up all day long for a ten minute trip once a week to the blood clinic, then it is increasingly hard to find parking for those whose taxes fund those sat at home all day.
This is not S.A and our needy, and often greedy are all funded by working people & vans
No need to have to park on pavements, blocking right of way for pedestrians, wheel chairs and baby prams… one day might be one of yours that gets knocked over due to vehicle parked on pavement !!
Bit ignorant. A lot of disabled people do work you know, I’m sure some of them drive transits as well.
By “Council Houses” I presume you mean Housing Association properties, or indeed now privately owned properties, bought by their tenants under the right to buy schemes. There are no “Council houses ” left on the Island.
I know that people who park with two wheels on the pavement do so simply because their vehicle would be damaged by the constant M25 speeds at which some fools drive up & down Great Preston Rd. I had my car damaged, so had to put up cctv to protect my vehicle, because my next door neighbour’s father damaged it then drove away denying responsibility. I’ve since had to endure two years of verbal abuse, and false accusations including being a paedophile, meanwhile this person & her family pretend to be “victims”-but I’ve just been acquitted in court! There are some nasty people living on this road, ready to have a pop at everyone else:GET A LIFE!
I’m afraid there are certain places a wheelchair is not designed to go, a sandy beach is one, followed by stairs, a swimming pool, an assault course, parachute jump, rock climbing hot air balloon. You get my drift, it’s unfortunate but for various reasons it cannot happen. How much time and effort would be required if someone veered off the pathway and got stuck in the sand