A Town Council on the Isle of Wight will have to pay out more than £5,000 after a judge found it breached the Equalities Act — due to the closing mechanism installed on a disabled toilet.
Joe Nash, 76, said he was prevented from accessing a wheelchair-accessible toilet at The Cut, off Cowes High Street, by Cowes Town Council (CTC) after it refused a request to remove a ‘very powerful’ hydraulic door closure.
Mr Nash, who is a full-time wheelchair user due to strokes, and with only 1 good arm, said he made the claim, which was heard at the Isle of Wight County Court, after a week of difficulty and humiliation in 2021.
He was collecting in the High Street for Alzheimer’s Cafe, during Cowes Week, but had to wait for a passer-by to open the steel door for him.
As Mr Nash cannot speak, having to type out what he would like to communicate on his speaking machine and trying to summon a stranger to help him was ‘difficult, humiliating, embarrassing and traumatic’.
He complained about the facilities in 2018 to CTC after which it conducted an accessibility assessment and made adjustments to the self-closing mechanism on the door, lessening the force behind it. It was still too difficult for Mr Nash to easily negotiate.
In its defence, CTC said it did not prevent Mr Nash from accessing the toilet and the facilities are for the general public, with any alterations needed to have consideration on the impact on wider users. It said it did not discriminate and has made reasonable adjustments to ensure its public facilities meet regulations.
CTC said while it sympathised with the difficulties faced, it approached Mr Nash to see if he would be willing to assist in finding alternative ways of accessing the toilet but he refused to, leading CTC to believe the claim was being financially driven, rather than problem-solving — which Mr Nash refuted.
District Judge Andrew Grand, sitting with assessor Ms Lloyd-Jennings, concluded the case last week and said the case was a ‘curiosity’ as the issue was not a complaint of failure to provide a disabled facility, it was that the facility was essentially not fit for purpose.
District Judge Grand said there was no evidence CTC sought advice about what different options could be provided, including the removal of the self-closures, what those costs could be and whether the council could reasonably cope with the costs.
He said CTC did not take reasonable steps to make reasonable adjustments for Mr Nash and found it was in breach of duty, having discriminated against him.
District Judge Grand said:
“This is a specific facility which has failed to meet the needs of a disabled user.”
District Judge Grand awarded Mr Nash £5,000 in damages and costs of £801.
Most toilets are inaccessible due to some idiot closing them early.
No wonder people p*ss up walls
What would happen if there were no toilets? How would he sue the council for that????
another free loading chancer that thinks public money is there to be taken on any BS claim.
i guess it was lost on nash that it takes able bodied people to build, maintain and clean these toilets – perhaps all able bodied people should just not help him and see how far he gets in life.
As a carer to a severely disabled person, whose outings were ruled by the accessibility of toilets, I sincerely hope you end up in a wheelchair, and the sooner the better and then you might realise that the majority of disabled people are not ‘freeloading chancers’
Tut tut grumpy old git – bitter at your lot in life are you – perhaps you should tell someone who cares.
Happy he one this case,but how about IOW council taken to Court for not even providing toilets, it’s hard for people to go out sometimes as few few toilets now, those you have to pay often take you’re money and don’t open. Toilets are a human right and we all pay enough Council Tax, most is spent on Spin and ludecrus ideas that never turn out or are useless – like Ryde interchange or StMarys traffic lights – our population hardly increased in 20yrs and tourism the same.
Could you put that in English please!
It’s not so much the problem, it’s the Town Council’s typical indifferent response. The standard line they trot out is that we have to take all users into consideration. It’s a cop-out. If they’ve just altered it properly they wouldn’t be forking out now would they.
note to CTC – get rid of the facility all together, close down all other toilets and state that they cannot afford to run them because of people like nash. Then see how he feels when he needs the toilet.
How dare you call him a benefit scrounger!
Only young people are scroungers!
As a carer to a severely disabled person, whose outings were ruled by the accessibility of toilets, I sincerely hope you end up in a wheelchair, and the sooner the better and then you might realise just how little IS done to make their lives bearable
give it a rest grumpy old git – not one able bodied person is born with a note attached them that obligates them to provide assistance to anyone else, ever.
I don’t understand how any person can read this and then blame the disabled gentleman and stick up for the council…these toilets are absolutely disgusting as it is, we pay a decent amount of council tax to live in Cowes and the town itself is beautiful and then you walk round to this wreck of a facility, the man cannot walk, talk or use on of his arms, and you want to say he’s a benefit scrounger, I really hope you are all being sarcastic because what a derogatory way to look at a disabled human being. I’m genuinely disgusted by so many of the stuck up toffs that waste their days on here just being pure nasty people!
Despite all his disabilties he was out collecting money for charity when this happened.
Glad he percivered with his case and was not fobbed off by an uncaring CTC.
Some people on here need to take a long hard look at themselves judging by some of comments above
yawn – disabled people and disabled groups have fought long and hard to be treated equally and have the same rights as able bodied people – so, get used to being criticised, get used to doing things for yourself, get used to paying the same prices, waiting in the same queue and going without, when others get there first.
disabled people should remember – you cannot demand to be treated equally, yet be treated more favourably and differently on price and facilities at the same time.