People using mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs face using steep, difficult-to-access paths when travelling around Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne.
The Bay and Eastbourne Rollers friendship group, which meets for days out in the area, is concerned that members on wheels are at risk near the harbour’s locks.
Harbour owner Premier Marinas recently cleared two areas of a grassy slope to create a gravel incline and an incline with a soil surface.
But the friendship group said that the slopes are too steep and not surfaced properly to allow wheelchair users and people with children in pushchairs to use them safely.
The two newer paths are in addition to an existing slope of concrete paving blocks which has a sharp turn around fencing.
Ray Blakeborough, who has lived in the harbour for many years, said he sees people having trouble negotiating the wide, dirt slope from his window.
“Premier do a fantastic job here most of the time. But it would be good to be consulted about this – you wonder how much effort it would be to put in a proper path.”
He said of the steep gravel path: “People have to accelerate quickly for momentum to get up the path and then they are going straight into people walking past. It’s a blind corner.”
Lou, who did not want to give her full name, started the friendship group Bay and Eastbourne Rollers in 2022 for trips out. It has about 50 members, many of whom use mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs.
She said that the powered chair she sometimes uses, which is lightweight and can be folded, gets stuck in the gravel and there is not enough momentum to free the wheels.
“It’s such a shame because everywhere else in the harbour is so accessible,” she said.
“A lot of our members have scooters and powerchairs and we like to come to this area. It would make a huge difference to them if we could travel all around the harbour.”
Lou, who has multiple sclerosis, lives in Pevensey and uses her mobility scooter for the half-hour trip from her home to the harbour.
She said she had watched a woman struggling to get up the gravelled ramp with a pushchair before giving up and taking the longer street route away from the harbour.
“We can take a different route by road but our group is for people who may not get out very often so it’s a real day out and we want to be by the harbour with a view,” she said.
Mandy Denne uses a mobility scooter because she has several health issues, including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.
She travels to the harbour area with her dog Hooch all the way from her home in Westham but is frustrated by the access limitations at the harbour.
“I have got stuck before and it’s not ideal,” she said.
Premier Marinas, which operates ten other marinas along the south coast, has been approached for a comment.
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This is a ridiculous situation in this day and age when everyone is Health and Safety obsessed! It also should be expected that people with accessibility needs are considered in any public areas, this is completely unacceptable and should be rectified without haste. It is certainly not the first time this issue has been brought up and should have been dealt with long ago. Who would be liable if a pushchair or power chair tipped over and the user got injured? Maybe a little investment to fix this issue could same them a big payout!