SEVERAL YEARS according to local residents. More than 2 years ago, local residents living in Melbourne House went on a walkabout with Councillor Suresh Patel and Andy Leighton from the county council, and pointed out the difficulties faced by the many disabled residents living in Melbourne House because of the absence of dropped kerbs on the approaches to the building….

In the autumn of 2013 an elderly residents was yanking her shopping trolley up over the kerb outside the building and fell heavily, sustaining a broken ankle and badly-bruised face. This is a woman in her eighties.

As the current county councillor for the area I raised the issue at a St James’ Residents’ Association meeting on 9 October and again in a letter to Andy Leighton on 6 November, asking for action to be taken: “I would be grateful if you would take steps to get dropped kerbs installed in the Abbey Street on the approach to Melbourne House so we can avoid any repetition of this unfortunate incident.” So here we are in February 2013 and the dropped kerbs still haven’t been provided.

This is simply not good enough for the elderly and disabled residents of St James. If you look at this simply in terms of budgets, it must cost more to undertake medical treatment for people injured by the lack of adequate provision for their disabilities, than it would to provide the dropped kerb as requested.