There has been no increase in the number of wheelchair accessible taxis in the Harrogate district despite licensing changes to boost travel options for disabled people.

Harrogate Borough Council removed a limit on the number of licenses available for these vehicles last June after complaints that wheelchair users were being “cut off from society”.

There were just 22 wheelchair accessible taxis in the district at the time – and now that figure remains the same.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said while the Harrogate-based charity appreciated the efforts made by the council, wheelchair users were stuck facing the same travel issues that they have had for “many years”.

She said: 

“Disabled people are still facing unnecessary barriers to living their daily lives with one in three disabled people saying that they just don’t make journeys due to transport challenges.

“We have many examples of people missing medical appointments and social events because they just couldn’t get there.

“In recent times, due to the risk of covid, many disabled people are reluctant to travel on public transport, viewing taxis as a much safer option – if they were available.

“Reliable, accessible, transport is key to an independent life. There is still much that can be done in all areas of public transport to improve this.

“We have an amazing district and it would be so good to be able to promote this as accessible to all.”

Ms Snape added there is “very low” availability of wheelchair accessible taxis at peak times and during evenings in a problem which she previously described as a “cab curfew” on disabled people.

These concerns were first raised in a council-run study which concluded wheelchair users were suffering from a “great deal of anxiety” over worries they could be left stranded.

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Before the licensing changes were introduced last June, taxi drivers were worried that an unlimited number of licences could “deregulate” the trade.

However, those fears that a wave of new drivers could flood into Harrogate have not been realised.

Harrogate Borough Council said while the overall number of wheelchair accessible taxis has not increased, there are now more hackney carriages than private hire vehicles, which gives disabled people “greater flexibility” as these can be hailed at ranks without the need to pre-book.

A council spokesman said:

“There is no easy way to encourage both private vehicles and hackney carriages to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles

“But we hope over the coming months, the figure will increase to further allow customers who use wheelchairs to go about their lives.

“The demand for new wheelchair accessible vehicle plates is self-limiting by virtue of the upfront cost of the vehicle and cost of maintenance. And from our initial observations, there has been no devastating impact on trade, as suggested.

“We will continue to promote wheelchair accessible vehicle plates to both private vehicles and hackney carriage holders to ensure the current demand for the service is met.”

Pret a Manger has been criticised for opening a new shop in Harrogate that is currently inaccessible to wheelchair users.

Customers to the sandwich and coffee chain, which opened on Harrogate’s James Street on Friday, have to walk up two steps to enter.

Pret has said a permanent ramp cannot be fitted due “to the structure of the building”.

It added that a low-level bell has been fitted outside to alert staff to bring out a “purpose-designed portable ramp” when requested but it has not yet been delivered.

Local resident, Jeannine Fisher, contacted the Stray Ferret today after seeing a wheelchair user unable to get inside the shop. She said:

“It makes me very frustrated that we should exclude people from society.  It beggars belief that a multinational company, who must clearly be aware of the guidelines, have neglected to create inclusive access.

“With everything else that wheelchairs users have to navigate in the town it feels so unfair that they are unable to do simple things that others can do such as having a coffee with their friends.”

Harrogate charity Disability Action Yorkshire offers accessibility audits to help businesses do all they can to be fully accessible.

Chief executive Jackie Snape said:

“It is very disappointing that Pret had not consulted with disabled people, or a disability organisation, about accessibility to its new James Street outlet. We would be more than happy to speak with the local team as to what they can still do to aid disabled customers.

“We do note, however, that Pret has a digital accessibility policy on its website, it’s just a shame there isn’t a store accessibility policy to match!”

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A Pret spokesperson said:

“We know how it important it is for customers in wheelchairs to have easy access to our shop.

“Sadly, in Harrogate we’ve been unable to fit a permanent ramp due to the structure of the building and its listed status. That’s why we’ve had a bespoke portable ramp designed to give our customers step-free access into the shop.”

Plans for a new 36-flat supported housing development in Harrogate have been given the go-ahead today.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of the Harrogate charity Disability Action Yorkshire, made an impassioned plea to councillors for the scheme to go ahead. She said disabled people wanted to be given more control of their lives.

Ms Snape told Harrogate Borough Council‘s planning meeting that the need for supported housing was growing ever greater as disabled people “want so much more than residential care”.

She was speaking in support of plans to replace the charity’s existing Claro Road care home with 36 flats, which will allow residents to live more independently.

Ms Snape said:

“Disability Action Yorkshire has provided residential care for disabled people in the Harrogate area for the past 60 years, and for at least the last six years we have been working towards stopping that part of our service.

“The reason for this is that the disabled people we work with are telling us very loudly that they don’t want residential care.

“I asked the young disabled people currently living in 34 Claro Road what they thought I should say to you today.

“They said ‘just tell them we are ready, we want choice and control over our own lives, we just want our own front doors, we want what everyone else has.’”

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Disability Action Yorkshire, which this year celebrates its 85th anniversary, is working with Highstone Housing Association to build three apartment blocks at the Claro Road site.

Residents ‘no longer want residential care’

Ms Snape said the need for this type of accommodation has been growing over the last decade, but became in even greater demand during the pandemic which “solidified the resolve” of Claro Road residents that they no longer want residential care.

She said:

“For the past two years they have been treated differently to the rest of society, at one point not being able to have visits from friends and family while the rest of the country went out to eat out.

“Nearly every day somebody said we wouldn’t be in this situation if we had a home of our own.”

The charity’s plans – which included a mix of one and two-bed flats – were approved with “open arms” by Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee today.

Works will now start later this month to construct the first of the flats on the grounds of the current home and on a derelict playground which was sold off by the council last year.

The existing care home will be replaced with flats, as well as a base for support staff who will be on site 24-hours-a-day.

Speaking at today’s meeting, councillor Stuart Martin said:

“This is exactly the sort of development we should be building and it’s one of the easiest decisions I’ve taken on this planning committee.”

Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire has explained why many pedestrian crossings in Harrogate town centre do not make a beeping sound to let blind or visually impaired people know it is safe to cross.

It follows a Stray Ferret article published on Saturday about Harrogate man John Raho, 80, who relies on the noise to help him cross the road safely when vehicles stop and the green man appears.

But from the top of Cheltenham Parade up Station Parade and to the Victoria Avenue junction, 9 out of 10 crossings did not make any noise at all, which Mr Raho said was ‘shameful’.

Mr Raho received some messages of support on social media from people who named other pedestrian crossings in the district where they would like to hear a beeping noise.

Could be confusing

Disability Action Yorkshire was founded 84 years ago and helps disabled people live the life of their choosing.

It has headquarters and a training centre on Hornbeam Park, a residential care home on Claro Road, and a holiday lodge in Lincolnshire.

Its chief executive Jackie Snape said she sympathised with Mr Raho’s plight but said having too many crossings making the noise could be confusing.

Ms Snape said:

“[Crossings that don’t beep] is something we hear quite a lot but I do fully understand the reasons.

“It’s where there are two or three crossings close to each other. People could get confused and walk into the roads.”

Jackie Snape, Disability Action Yorkshire chief executive.

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Ms Snape said there needed to be greater awareness that crossings that don’t beep have a small cone underneath that can be touched. The cone turns when the green man lights up to indicate it is safe to cross.

But she added that since covid, many people did not feel comfortable touching it.

Many crossings have a plastic cone underneath that turns when it is safe to cross

Victoria Avenue junction

Whilst Ms Snape said it would be confusing to have too many crossings on Station Parade making the beeping noise, the silent crossing at the Victoria Avenue junction “needs looking at” because it wasn’t in close proximity to other crossings.

She said crossings like this should be reported to North Yorkshire County Council through its website.

Ms Snape said:

“We’ve reported machines in the past when they have stopped working. Unless they are reported, the council does not know they are not working properly.”

Ms Snape added that if any blind or partially sighted person would like to report a crossing that does not make a beeping noise, the charity can do it on their behalf through its website or by calling 01423 855419.

Plans to demolish a 20-bed care home on Claro Road in Harrogate and replace it with a new facility have been recommended for approval.

Disability Action Yorkshire has submitted the proposal, which would see a 34-bed facility built on its current site and on adjacent disused land.

The new home would be built in three three-storey blocks and would ease the shortage of accessible supported housing for local disabled people.

Senior Harrogate Borough Council officers have recommended that the scheme is approved at a planning committee meeting next week.

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The proposal consists of 24 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom flats.

Should it be approved, Disability Action Yorkshire plans to complete the scheme in partnership with Highstone Housing Association.

The council agreed to sell the adjacent land to the housing association for an undisclosed sum in November 2021.

It is hoped the project will be completed by the end of 2023.

Masterplan of the care home development on Claro Road as proposed by Disability Action Yorkshire.

Jackie Snape, chief executive at Disability Action Yorkshire, said previously:

“Our vision is to empower disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choosing, and independent living is at the heart of this.

“This is an incredibly exciting move for us, and something we have been planning for a number of years. Our partners, Highstone Housing Association, are experts in building supported housing.

“Whilst they will develop the site, it will be our staff supporting the residents, all of whom will have tailor-made care packages put in place before moving in.

“Our customers at 34 Claro Road have been fully consulted, and they looking forward to having their own front doors.”

Two Harrogate charities have joined forces to host a care recruitment event in Harrogate town centre today.

Staff from Disability Action Yorkshire and The Avalon Group will be answering questions at the Everyman Cinema from 11am until 1:30pm, discussing the work they do and the roles currently available.

The recruitment drive comes as North Yorkshire suffers from a shortage of care workers, with over 1,000 estimated vacancies in the sector across the county on any given day.

Disability Action North Yorkshire operates a care home on Claro Road in Harrogate and has a training centre in Hornbeam Park, providing services for disabled people to live their lives fully.

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Jackie Snape, Disability Action Yorkshire’s chief executive said:

“As two Harrogate-based charities operating in similar fields, we’ve decided to partner for this social care recruitment event.

“For those considering a career in social care, this will be an ideal opportunity to find out about the importance of this sector, what we as individual charities do, and the jobs that are currently available.”

The Avalon Group works across the north of England to support anyone who needs additional care and support, including those with dementia, learning or physical disabilities, mental health difficulties and more.

Disability Action Yorkshire has submitted plans to demolish its 20-bed care home in Harrogate and build a 36-home facility instead.

The charity wants to construct three new apartment blocks on the site of its current home at 34 Claro Road and an adjacent parcel of disused land.

The development aims to partly the shortage of accessible supported housing for local disabled people.

Disability Action Yorkshire plans to complete the scheme in partnership with Highstone Housing Association, which is in the process of buying 34 Claro Road from the charity and the disused land from Harrogate Borough Council.

If the land sales go ahead, and the council grants planning permission for the scheme, work will begin in March to build two apartment blocks consisting of 24 one and two-bedroom flats.

Claro residents will then move in to these and their current care home will be demolished and the final block built.

All current residents will be guaranteed a flat to live in.

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It is hoped the project is completed by the end of 2023.

Jackie Snape, Disability Action Yorkshire’s chief executive, said:

“Our vision is to empower disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choosing, and independent living is at the heart of this.

“This is an incredibly exciting move for us, and something we have been planning for a number of years. Our partners, Highstone Housing Association, are experts in building supported housing.

“Whilst they will develop the site, it will be our staff supporting the residents, all of whom will have tailor-made care packages put in place before moving in.

“Our customers at 34 Claro Road have been fully consulted, and they looking forward to having their own front doors!”

Independent living

Founded 84 years ago, Disability Action has its headquarters and training centre on the town’s Hornbeam Park, a residential care home on Claro Road, and a holiday lodge in Lincolnshire.

It aims to empower disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choosing, through its training, preparation and other living skills.

Gareth Lloyd, Highstone Housing Association’s development and partnerships director, said:

“Highstone have over 30 years of development experience specialising in the delivery of bespoke quality accommodation for people with learning and physical disabilities, alongside complex needs.

“Our developments enable our tenants to have their own front door, living independently, with support.”

A disability charity in Harrogate has said the sudden increase in outdoor dining has caused safety concerns for wheelchair users and visually impaired people.

Hospitality businesses have taken advantage of new pavement licences this week.

Many have been busy but the extra tables and chairs on pavements has prompted Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, to urge venues to consider people with disabilities.

She said:

“We have heard some concerns already, not only from wheelchair users but also from people with other mobility issues and people with visual impairments.

“It can be difficult if there are tables and chairs on streets where they don’t expect them.”

Ms Snape said tables and chairs on narrow pavements with no segregated pedestrian area were the main problems. She said it encouraged people to spread out on their chairs and take up the whole pavement, adding:

“It forces passers-by to go on the road, which isn’t easy if you are a wheelchair user, especially if there isn’t a dropped kerb.”

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The new outdoor cafe culture has caused other problems, with one wheelchair user telling the charity they had been unable to get a coffee because an outdoors area wasn’t able to accommodate their wheelchair.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire

Ms Snape said badly managed queues were also a concern because they forced wheelchair users into roads.

She said:

“It’s great to see everywhere so busy and nobody wants to see restrictions. I suspect most businesses just haven’t thought about these issues. Be kind. Be respectful. These problems could be easily solved.

“But if it becomes a massive issue something will have to be done and some controls put in place.”