Anger at Engine Shed’s disabled parking snub
Officials of Historic Environment Scotland were this week told to“hang their heads in shame”as the row over disabled parking spaces at the Engine Shed took a new twist.
Scotland’s first historic buildings conservation centre opened earlier this month in a converted and extended Ministry of Defence property in Forthside.
Condition five of the planning consent, granted by Stirling Council, said the development could not proceed without agreed proposals for on-site disabled parking.
Three disabled parking bays have been created at the foot of Forthside Bridge but away from the entrance of the centre.
HES told the Observer two weeks ago the bays met with the condition of the planning consent.
Now, however, it has emerged that the organisation has applied to Stirling Council for planning permission NOT to comply with condition five in the original Engine Shed consent.
In a letter to the council, Peter Buchanan of HES’s project directorate, said there was no on-site parking and, therefore, no obligation on them to create on-site parking for the disabled.
Both Riverside Community Council and Stirling Area Access Panel have raised the issue of the lack of disabled parking at the £11 million Engine Shed site.
According to the Access Panel, the disabled parking bays created next to the Spiky Bridge are more than 40 metres away from the entrance to the Engine Shed and do not comply with British Standards Institute recommendations.
Isabella Gorska, a member of both Riverside Community Council and the area access panel, said the 2014 planning consent for the building stated the disabled parking was to be “on site”.
“This is 2017, not the dark ages,” she added. “HES officials should hang their heads in shame.
“How can they support a £11 million-plus development out of public funds that has no disabled parking within 40 meters of the building.
“It highlights the need of disability awareness training so that expensive projects like this comply with the Equality 2010 Act.
“Until we see a legal challenge made we will continue to see organisations attempt to ignore this piece of legislation and the disabled continue to be discriminated against.
“If Stirling Council is to accept this amendment it calls into question the whole planning process and community engagement.”
Access panel chairperson Robert Dick added: “Here again, an outstanding learning and tourism centre for Stirling is blighted through poor access for the disabled, the elderly and also the very young.”
An HES spokesman said: “As we do not own the land surrounding the Engine Shed and there is therefore no specific public parking on the land in our ownership, there is a technical requirement that we submit a non-compliance application under section 42 of the Town & Country Planning (Scotland) Act.
“Disabled parking arrangements for the site are, however, fully in place through an agreement with Stirling Council, who own the surrounding land where there is wider public parking for the site, which is compliant with condition five of the planning consent process.”