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Jun 2021
Last Updated: 28/05/2021
Sight-impaired Ripon man calls for council boss to intervene over pavement cafe
A severely sight impaired Ripon man, is calling for Harrogate Borough Council's chief executive to intervene over a pavement cafe. The council says the cafe is complying with regulations. Graham Wilkey says it makes the pavement an obstacle course.
A visually impaired man from Ripon has called on the Chief Executive of Harrogate Borough Council to intervene over a pavement cafe complaint.
Graham Wilkey has lodged a stage one complaint over the Caffe Nero outside space with the council. highlighting the issue about the amount of space that pavement licence holders are required to provide to ensure access can be maintained.
He told the Stray Ferret:
"Businesses that are given a licence to put tables and chairs outside their premises, should ensure that they are properly barriered off.
"They also need to ensure that the gap between the barriered off tables and chairs and edge of the kerb, is wide enough for people in two wheelchairs to safely pass by."
Following the end of the first covid lockdown last summer, Mr Wilkey went out on his own into the city centre.
However, on his first solo walk in months, he collided with tables and chairs outside Caffe Nero in Market Place North.
His white stick got stuck and was bent out of shape.
Mr Wilkey, said:
"That shattered my confidence and made me wary about going out alone."
He ;pointed out:
"I made a complaint to the council about the table licence that they gave to Caffe Nero
"I felt that council officers had not got the measurements right.
"I believe that the gap between the tables and chairs and the edge of the kerb is not wide enough.
"In addition to this, there are other obstructions on Market Place North, such as a lamp post.
"This makes it like an obstacle course for blind, partially sighted and disabled people in wheelchairs - that's why I am calling on Mr Sampson's intervention.
"I have asked the council's corporate affairs team to bring this to his attention."
In a written response to Mr Wilkey's stage one complaint, the corporate affairs team, said that highways officers had visited the site during a consultation period and after the licence was granted and that they:
"Have confirmed that there is sufficient space."
The letter goes on to say:
"Harrogate Borough Council is in agreement with this.
"Whilst there is no statutory requirement for barriers to be placed all around the site, Caffe Nero have confirmed their desire to deploy additional barriers."
"With the easing of lockdown and more pavement licences issued, people with white sticks find it more difficult to navigate around the streets.
"I know this from personal experience, because I have my own white stick."
She added:
"People who use white sticks are trained to walk close to the frontage of buildings.
"This becomes more problematic if there are tables and chairs in the way that hadn't been in place previously.
"Where barriers have been put around seating areas, the barrier should go all the way to the ground, so that sticks can't get stuck under them."
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