‘It’s never a no – we just get ignored’

The Royal Borough has been criticised for having ‘no appetite’ to address a lack of disabled car parking in Maidenhead town centre.

The ongoing closure and demolition of Broadway Car Park has impacted the amount of disabled spaces available with 31 spots removed due to the upheaval.

During a meeting of the council’s disability and inclusion forum on Monday, council officers faced questions over whether a surface level car park will be introduced once the car park’s demolition is completed.

Kiran Hunjan, overseeing the demolition of the car park for the council, said: “I know people are asking about what will happen afterwards and whether it will be a surface car park following the demolition.

“That is not something

I have been instructed to deliver.

“The July cabinet approval was just for the demolition and not for the surface car park to follow.”

She added that hoardings will remain around the site and it will not be accessible to the public.

Lisa Hughes, vice chairman of the disability and inclusion forum, shared her frustrations in the meeting about the lack of action to improve the availability of disabled parking amidst Broadway’s ongoing closure.

She said: “It does feel like there is no creative thinking going on around the eradication of 31 spaces for people who are disabled to park in the town centre.

“Maybe 31 can’t be replaced anytime soon but it does feel there is just no appetite for anyone considering it.

“It’s kind of just like throw your hands up and it can’t be done.

“That just feels ridiculous in this borough in the 21st century.”

Forum member Peter Haley, chief executive of community transport company People to Places, also hit out at the council for a lack of engagement over the issue.

He added: “There’s a lot of people that are very committed and behind them there are thousands of people who depend on us to champion these causes.

“It’s beyond frustrating. We just don’t seem to get anywhere and the worse thing is, it’s never a no. We just get ignored.”

The Advertiser spoke to Lib Dem councillor Josh Reynolds after the meeting, who has recently taken on the responsibility of overseeing the council’s progress on equality.

He said he is planning to work alongside the disability and inclusion forum to find solutions for the parking problems facing Maidenhead.

“We need to see what we can do now, medium term, for parking in Maidenhead which is both affordable for us as a council but make sure we listen to the views of residents, including the disability and inclusion forum.

“I know residents are crying out for Maidenhead parking because it’s important to them and they want to see their high streets thrive.”