Access All Areas

Access to public spaces in Southam is being looked into later this month, with local residents being encouraged to take part.  The research has been initiated by Access 4 Southam, part of Vision 4 Southam, the local community group looking at improving the town as part of the Market Towns Initiative with support from Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

The main stretch of public space in Southam town centre will be audited on Monday 13 June, although it will not include private premises such as shops etc. As well as creating greater public awareness of accessibility issues, the findings will provide credible research to inform future changes and improvements in Southam.

"We are looking at how we can make access easier into the public space area in Southam town centre, not just for people with mobility problems but for others such as pram users," said Cllr Bob Stevens, the chairman of Vision 4 Southam.

"This is very much a community-based exercise so I would like to invite anyone who wants to take part to get in touch with us and help improve the town."

"The mobility Audit will be carried out by Council Of Disabled People (CDP) Warwickshire & Coventry, which last year carried out a similar piece of work within Rugby Town centre highlighting the many access issues there. CDP are very keen that all Disabled people who live and work in and around Southam take part in this event in order that the access issues and barriers that they face in Southam can be tackled."

Anyone wishing to take part in the research or receive a Disability and Discrimination Act information pack should contact Julia Aratoon at Stratford District Council on 01789 260103, or Kate Lewis at Warwickshire County Council on 01926 412134.

Other achievements so far include a working group set up to deliver projects in the town, a business advice seminar on the Disability and Discrimination Act (1995) legislation, and production of a supporting information pack. Future projects include developing a guide to services for disabled people, community engagement to tackle these issues and to feed in positively to the development and improvement of Southam.

In addition, Access 4 Southam is working with the Holy Well Project team to improve accessibility to the site of the Holy Well.