Paralysed Army hero ‘angry’ over car park barriers
VETERAN UNABLE TO USE SHOPPING CENTRE CAR PARK
A PARALYSED Army veteran was left “angry” after he could not park his van outside a Burton shopping centre due to height restriction barriers installed to keep travellers out.
Steven Rigby often uses Coopers Square shopping centre, and likes the car park as it is so close to the shops.
He visited the town centre on Sunday, November 13, to do some Christmas shopping. But he had to turn around and park much further away after spotting the height barriers at the council-owned car park.
Where he ended up parking meant he had to cross busy Union Street to get to the shops.
Mr Rigby, 68, who lives in Linton, took part in tours of duty in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and was injured while serving in the Army Physical Training Corps in Aldershot in 1981, which left him in a wheelchair.
Recently, he has been driving a specially adapted Mercedes Sprinter van so that he is able to stay in his power chair and still drive.
He is paralysed from the neck down and has limited arm movement. However, he say he loves driving as it gives him freedom to get out and about.
When he went to Coopers Square though, he was upset he could not get into the car park closest to the centre due to a set of barriers. The height of his vehicle is 2.3 metres, and he said the barrier is 2.2 metres.
Mr Rigby said: “I am a regular going to Coopers Square. It is ideal there as I can park up nice and close to the town centre, and there are lots of spaces close to the main entrance. Last Sunday
I got to the car park I usually go to and I couldn’t get in because of the height barriers, I had to stop in my tracks.
“As far as I know, the barriers suddenly appeared one day. I hadn’t heard anything about this. There was nothing I could see online or in the paper. I was pretty annoyed to be honest.
“I had to park across the road at Sainsbury’s and negotiate the traffic, which is difficult for me in my chair. It was as close as I could get. I was really annoyed and angry.”
He added that this is an issue he often has when looking for a parking space. He said that more care needs to be taken when considering the needs of disabled motorists.
He added: “Unfortunately, it is a common issue to see those dreaded yellow barriers. When you’re driving in any city centre you have to keep going to find somewhere to park. It’s usually miles away from where you need to be to find somewhere that’s disabledfriendly.
“I love the freedom of driving. It is absolutely something that gives me a bit of control back in my life. I don’t see what my lone voice can offer. I can’t imagine them saying we’ll just take them down.
“I want answers as to where I can go and how I can get there. It needs to be somewhere close. I liked having a regular parking space and, through no fault of my own, the vehicle is too high by a few inches.”
A spokesman for East Staffordshire Borough Council said: “The measures have been introduced to prevent traveller vehicles from entering the car park following three or four incursions over the past year.”