PROBLEMS with access for the disabled have prompted a call for Ludlow Town Council to move.

Margaret Hamer who suffers from muscular dystrophy says that the town council offices in the Guildhall are totally unsuitable.

She has suffered from the condition for 20 years and says that the town council office is a public building and there should be easy access for everyone.

Miss Hamer said that the town council does have a machine to help the disabled get into the building but says that this is only suitable for those who use a light weight wheelchair and not for people like her who use a heavy mobility scooter.

“I have never been into the building because it is impossible,” she said.

“The old court house is not suitable for meetings open to the public because of the issue of disabled access.

“I believe the town council did purchase something referred to as a ‘caterpillar’ for a disabled person to sit on and it moves the person up the outside steps.

“But to be able to use this ‘caterpillar’ the disabled person has to be able to transfer from their wheelchair on to it and have a lightweight wheelchair so the town council staff can carry the wheelchair up the steps for the person to get back into.

“I am disabled and use a mobility scooter to attend any events in the town. I would not be able to transfer from my scooter on to the "caterpillar" and, even if I could, then my scooter is too heavy to be lifted up the steps and, from what I have been told, the corridors inside the Guildhall leading to the court room would be difficult to negotiate on a scooter.

“When the town council was in the Buttercross I could at least put any correspondence through the letterbox but I can't even do that at the Guildhall.

“As the town council represents all members of the public then it should be accessible to everyone at all times. So perhaps the permanent solution should be to move to accessible premises with good acoustics including a hearing loop for those members of the public with hearing problems.”

She said that another town council building, the Buttercross, is also unsuitable because, although a lift has been installed, it is still necessary to negotiate a steep step.

Jack Andow, aged 75, who has been confined to a wheelchair for 15 years and acts as a researcher for the Ludlow Access Group, said he had always found town council staff ‘very helpful'.

But he said that the device that is used to help people with disabilities get into the building is only suitable for people who can be transferred out of their own wheelchair or from their scooter.

He said that because the batteries of the machine have to be charged it is also necessary to make an appointment before visiting the Guildhall.

Mr Andow said that the kerb at the Buttercross is also a major problem for people who use a wheelchair or mobility scooter.

Ludlow Town Council was asked for a comment but had not responded at the time of going to press.