PARKING on pavements and shops putting seating outside are amongst the hazards being face by people with disabilities in Ludlow.

But now a group that has been fighting to improve access to places in the town for 30 years is back up and running after having to go into hibernation because of Covid-19.

The ‘Ludlow Access Group’ will meet this month for the first time in almost two years.

It will meet on the third Friday of each month at Whitefriars in the town at 2pm.

The group is open to people with any form of disability and will take up its challenge of making the town more accessible.

Vivienne Parry, who has led the group for the past 12 years, says that the situation has been improving in some ways but there is still a long way to go.

“Parking on pavements is a very real problem and makes things very difficult for many people,” said Mrs Parry.

“There is also the hazard with cafes and other shops putting seating in the street.”

This problem has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic with people encouraged to be outside as much as possible.

Ludlow presents many challenges to people with disabilities partly because of the geography of the town with its hills and narrow streets.

A large number of the shops are small and many are listed making it hard if not impossible to make the modifications necessary to make access easier.

The town is also still waiting for the lift at the railway station that was promised before the pandemic.

Without a lift some disabled people coming to Ludlow from the north travel to Leominster before coming back to Ludlow so that they can get off on the platform on the town side.

Mrs Parry said that the definition of ‘disability’ has widened since the group started and is not just confined to people with mobility and sight problems but includes conditions such as dyslexia.