.

 

 

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 6TH FEBRUARY  2020 IN THOMAS HERD HOUSE, WARD ROAD, DUNDEE.

 

 

PRESENT:  Carole Craig, Anne Farrow, Sandy Cameron, Denise Cameron, Lynda Sawers, Jan Goodall, Dorothy Wilson, Lillian Malcolm, John Mitchell.

APOLOGIES:  Denis Bethell, Erik Cramb, Bill Varney, Alison Rae.

 

1.     MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 5th December 2019 were approved.

 

 

2.       MATTERS ARISING:

 

2.1.          (Re Minute 2.3). Access to the V&A. The solution that the V&A had provided for those who found the entrance to the V&A entrance too far from the disabled car parking spaces had still not been put on their Accessibility page. Anne will write to them again.

 

It was suggested that Anne should also give the information to AccessAble and to Euan’s Guide.

 

Anne said the map showing car parking spaces linked to the V&A Accessibility page needed to be updated. She will send a link to Dorothy.  

 

2.2.          (Re Minute 2.4). Access to the butcher’s shop on Perth Road.  Sandy will ask Graham Angus to contact the butcher and keep Lynda informed about what is happening.

 

2.3.          (Re Minute 2.5). Update to extending our project to make buildings accessible in other areas of Dundee.   Dorothy had previously sent Anne a schedule of Local Community Planning Partnerships meetings and Anne produced copies for the meeting. Carole and Sandy thought that they could each go to one of the May meetings to let those attending know what Dundee Access Group does and, in particular, what we have been doing to make the Perth Road shops more accessible to wheelchair users.

 

2.4.          (Re Minute 2.6).  Blether Bus. After our last Dundee Access Group meeting there was an attempt made to give the Blether Bus more publicity in the hope that it would be used more. However, although the intentions to get the bus used are good, its introduction has been badly executed.  One problem is that a person wishing to use it must hail it to get it to stop for them, but the bus is not clearly identifiable, and people don’t see it coming. Because it is also used as a school bus, it isn’t possible to have it clearly marked as ‘The Blether Bus’. An article in Dundee’s Evening Telegraph said that there were complaints that it was a poor replacement for the bus on the 204 route. However, people have misunderstood its purpose, as it was never intended as a replacement for that service.  Mark Devine, Dundee Council, is being kept informed of the problems associated with it.  

 

2.5.          (Re Minute 2.7). Finlathan Play Area. Plans for the play area have been circulated and include facilities for those with disabilities.

 

2.6.          (Re Minute 2.10). Heart Space Yoga.  Carole has said to the owner, Alan Lambie, that Dundee Access Group does not approve of his new plans which make the entrance to the premise less accessible to those with disabilities. He has not replied.

 

2.7.          (Re Minute 5.2). Carole has received an apology from the general manager of the Doubletree Hilton after she complained that part of their festive craft fair was held upstairs when there was no lift, and this hadn’t been mentioned when the event was publicised. The manager said that their desire was to provide access to all but they might not always be able to do so. They now accept that when this is the case they should communicate so clearly.

 

 

3         OTHER AGENDA ITEMS:

 

3.1            Treasurer’s Report.  Sandy has received the grant he claimed from DES. He also asked DES to improve their template which is used to claim grants and they have done it.

 

 

4         CORRESPONDENCE:

 

  By email

 

4.1              ALLIANCE weekly Bulletins.

 

4.2              Inclusion Scotland E-Bulletins.

 

4.3              Dundee Third Sector Interface Newsletters.

 

4.4              Disability Living Newsletters.

 

4.5              DES Open Door magazine and Disability Equality Newsletter.

 

4.6              On 2/12/19 from Age Scotland sending their Housing Survey 2019.

 

4.7              On 4/12/19 from Age Scotland sending their online survey on Policing.

 

4.8              On 5/12/19 from Dorothy Wilson sending a link to info about all Dundee’s Local Community Planning Partnerships and their last year's meetings schedule.

 

4.9              On 6/12/19 from Dorothy Wilson sending details of ramp funding possibilities.

 

4.10          On 9/12/19 etc from Dorothy Wilson sending communications about advertising the Blether Bus.

 

4.11          On 10/12/19 from Scotrail offering portable ramps.

 

Sandy has requested 2 ramps which he is happy to store in his garage. They will be delivered to Dundee Station.

 

4.12          On 16/12/19 from Dorothy Wilson sending Facebook post from Tayside Dynamos Powerchair Football club on their use of RPC in Caird Park.

 

4.13          On 23/12/19 a questionnaire about Low Emission Zones in cities.

 

4.14          On 15/1/20 from Carole Craig sending plans for Finlathen Park play area.

 

4.15          On 20/1/20  from Age Scotland reminding us about what The V&A has to offer including tours and workshops and for those unable to visit the museum, there is the option of them coming out to visit and they can bring a range of objects from their collections to share, discuss and tell stories around.

 

4.16          On 27/1/20 from Age Concern sending an invitation to a focus group in Edinburgh 0n 3rd February to give info to Transport Scotland which is working with the Department for Transport and the Scottish Government to review current guidance on what makes streets fully accessible for all.

 

4.17          On 27/1/20 from a Welsh campaigner sending a survey about the Arts Council Arts Access Scheme.

 

 

5.  A.O.B.

 

        5.1      Carole complained to Starbucks in the Overgate that the door of the disabled toilet could not be shut when a wheelchair user went in. She had a reply from their customer care manager  who said that she had checked with her construction team who confirmed that due to the close proximity of the fire exit they gained a relaxation on the requirement for the door to open outwards from the Scottish Warrant Office and they are not able to change it and there is another disabled toilet inside the shopping centre.

        

       5.2       Carole said that at the request of Sam McCulloch she visited the North Carr lightship to give him advice about what would be required to make it accessible to children with life-limiting conditions.

 

       5.3       Carole visited 158 Nethergate at the request of Roddy Paul, J Paul Associates, to give advice on their planned alterations. They were happy to take her suggestions on board.

 

       5.4       After a visit to The Dome in Edinburgh Carole complained to the general manager that they were kept waiting to access the disabled toilet because a large number of staff were using it.  She received a letter of apology thanking her for her feedback and saying that unfortunately they do not have separate staff toilets, but they would look to put a new procedure in place.

 

       5.5       Carole has been consulted by the organisers of Radio 1’s Big Weekend which will take place in Dundee on 22 - 24th May 2020.  They wanted advice on what needs to be done to meet the needs of the people with disabilities who will attend.  Carole suggested that they book the Pamiloo as well as a disabled Portaloo for the event and recommended that they ask for proof if someone claims to need a carer otherwise the area reserved for those with disabilities becomes too congested.

 

      5.6        Carole said that she had expected that there would be a boccia court at the new Regional Performance Centre for Sport but there wasn’t one. Dorothy said she would make enquiries.

 

     5.7         Linda said that she had been speaking to someone who said that if we needed money for a project, we should ask the Northwood Charitable Trust. Sandy said that he was aware of the trust and that we would keep this in mind for future projects.          

 

    5.8          Jan has summarised the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland’s report on Transport for Health. See end of minutes.

                       

   

 

6     DATE OF NEXT MEETING.

 

The date of the next meeting is at 12.45 on Thursday 5th March 2020 in Thomas Herd House, 10 - 12 Ward Road, Dundee, DD1 1LX.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     web: www.dundeeaccessgroup.co.uk           e-mail:dundeeaccessgroup.org@hotmail.co.uk

 

MOBILITY AND ACCESS COMMITTEE FOR SCOTLAND (MACS)

Report on Transport for Health

Published January 2020

 

Among the national Transport Strategy’s objectives are: 1) Promote Equality and 4) Improve Health and Wellbeing.

The Macs report makes many recommendations including:

a) The Scottish Government should review transport services.

b) Transport should be built into the care pathway.

c) Organisations must engage in getting people to their services (transport needs).

d) 1 organisation should take lead strategic responsibility to ensure that transport for health is accessible, available and affordable for all. (Integrated Joint Boards suggested).

e) Budgets should be ring fenced for transport.

f) Community Transport providers should be involved in planning.

g) Scottish Ambulance Service should refine its escort policies and do Equality Impact Assessments.

 h) SAS should refine its Patient needs Assessment (PNA) to take account of disabled people’s real life experiences.

i) The impact and cost to the health services of inadequate transport should be evaluated and measured.

j) All Local Authorities should have accessible transport strategies and targets.

 

In my own experience the main problem (which is mentioned in the report) is the lack of lead responsibility for transport to health. And improvement will only come if the Scottish Government bites the bullet and legislates, backed up by a budget.