A resident of Cheshire House in Inverness, 26-year-old Mr Munro was diagnosed with dystonia, an incurable neurological movement disorder, when he was just six-years-old.

He explained it was the little things, like uneven ground, which most able-bodied people do not notice, which caused him the most difficulty, as do some shops' narrow aisles.

"What we really want to do is open people's eyes and show them what they take for granted," he said.

"We just want the same access rights as other people. We have to negotiate where we are going and how we are going to get there."

He continued: "I want to be able to go somewhere without having to say to someone 'Can you open the door for me' or 'Can you pass that down.' I want to be as independent as anyone else.

"It is about allowing people to do what normal people can do. It is as simple as that — being able to go out when you want and not having to worry about things."

Kenny Shand, a disability activist and volunteer at Cheshire House, which provides supported independent living and a day centre facility for people with a disability, said it was a major issue not just in Inverness.

He said everyday examples include crossings which have a drop-kerb on one side and not the other, drop-kerbs which can be as high as one inch and therefore difficult to negotiate, or no crossing whatsoever.

On a typical journey from Cheshire House to Tesco Metro, Tomnahurich Street, Mr Munro explained instead of going along Ness Walk, he has to go down Ardross Street and then Kenneth Street to find a suitable place to cross the road. Although there is not an official crossing, there is a drop kerb and central island.

Uneven pavements where roots have grown up through the tarmac, overgrown shrubbery and poor signage when works are taking place are also issues.

Legislation, which forced businesses to sit up and take notice of the needs of the country's disabled population, has gone a long way towards providing equal rights to the 830,000 people who live with a disability in Scotland.

Before introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in October 2004, the Disability Rights Commission estimated that more than 70 per cent of disabled people found it difficult to get into shops or use services offered on the high street. Almost three years on and all businesses are required to comply with the legislation and provide a service and facility, which is user-friendly to the disabled.

But a survey by the disability organisation Capability Scotland last year gave Inverness a low rating in terms of disabled access.

Disability rights activist David Hughes also visited the Highland capital earlier this month as part of a UK-wide tour to see how it measured up to the new laws. And his verdict? "You have a better chance of meeting Nessie in Inverness High Street than Scotland has got of being disability friendly," he said.

It is a nation-wide problem, claims Mr Hughes, who is compiling a report of his findings, which he intends to give to politicians and campaigning groups early next year.

"Compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act is a figment of an able-bodied person's imagination," he claimed.

In his assessment of Inverness, Mr Hughes, who used to be a member of the Royal Artillery until an assault left him physically disabled, hits out at Inverness' tourist information centre, which can only be accessed via stairs or a steep hill, and the city's railway station which he describes as "an accident waiting to happen."

"Under health and safety law, railway platforms are supposed to have edges which tell people when they are coming to the end of the platform," he said. "Inverness train station does not have these on all its platforms. If a person is partially sighted, they have every chance of going over the edge, whether there is a train there or not."

It is an issue Network Rail is aware of with an on-going programme across Scotland to upgrade platform edges including at Inverness.

"We take this issue seriously and it will certainly be attended to as part of our upgrading of the station," said a spokesman.

Donald Munro negotiates busy Inverness. Bobby Nelson

Moreover, Mr Hughes said the only disabled toilet in the station was closed all day for cleaning, although First ScotRail has since denied this.

"When I asked where the nearest disabled toilet was, they said it was somewhere in the middle of town. It took me 25 minutes to find it," he added.

Other problems included a grab rail in the toilets at Dalcross Airport, Inverness, which bent under pressure, a lack of disabled parking spaces and lack of or improper use of textured paving, which provides a warning to pedestrians of a specific hazard.

"I think if I were writing a school report for Inverness it would say 'could do better, but get better teachers'," he said. "They need to talk to people — not only those who have first hand experience of being disabled but also those who have got working knowledge of disability law."

He added: "I think Dundee and Perth are probably the best Scottish cities. The worst are Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Inverness kind of comes in the middle."

The users of Cheshire House have now raised their concerns with local MP Danny Alexander, a former Liberal Democrat disability spokesman, who has asked individuals keep a record of specific issues, which he will present to the relevant bodies including Highland Council.

And although he said improvements had been made, he added: "Inverness needs to do much more to become disabled friendly. The quality of access for disabled people is patchy and local disabled people understandably complain."

He stressed the situation was not unique to Inverness, adding that the physical infrastructure in all cities had a long way to go — but said that he hoped the streetscape works in the town centre would lead to real improvements.

He had also received complaints about public transport and planned to write to National Express about disabled access before it takes over the East Coast Main Line route in December.

"Improving access for all in Inverness must be high priority in the coming years," he added.

Sheila Williams, head of disability initiatives at Capability Scotland, said she was concerned about places which were non-accessible in any city.

"The disability equality duty, which covers local councils, states that councils must consult and take into account the views of disabled people in providing services and it sounds as if the people of Inverness will have more to say on their council's road care," she said. "It requires only some thought and discussion with the people affected by the environment," she added.

A spokeswoman for the Disability Rights Commission in Scotland said it was important that authorities and other public bodies promote equality in everything they do.

"There is no excuse for businesses and other services to be inaccessible," she said.

"Doing little or nothing for your disabled customers is no longer an option and could mean ending up in court."

Mr Shand, who has previously been approached about the lack of wheelchair accessible hotels, and others at Cheshire House are now calling for a service to be set up for disabled people, which provides information about disability-friendly facilities in the city. And although he said change was needed, he indicated he and others were not unrealistic.

"You are never going to get a town where everything is fantastic," he said. "I don't think you will ever get that, but there is no harm in trying."

h.paterson@inverness-courier.co.uk

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend