New Oban access guide being made
A new access guide is being compiled for Oban with help from high school pupils.
So far about 20 shops and facilities across the town have been checked over by a group of pupils, including Cameron Allen, who has brittle bone disease and George Croft, both 17.
The students’ help was enlisted by Oban and District Access Panel to replace a now out-of-date paper guide from almost a decade ago.
‘We had a wee flash of inspiration and got in touch with Oban High School to see if they could help,’ said Jim Tolmie, panel chairman.
During visits around town, the students have been looking at inside shops and venues as well as pavements outside.
‘Everyone has been very friendly and helpful and has been interested to hear what we have to say,’ said Cameron.
‘There are lots of old buildings in Oban but there are ways changes can be made to make getting round them and into them easier. We also noticed there are areas where there are dropped kerbs on one side of the road and not on the other,’ he added.
Mr Tolmie said: ‘We want businesses to be aware of the valuable work the students are doing to help us. We’ve got support from BID4Oban and we hope anything the students pick up on will sow seeds to get businesses thinking what they can do to make improvements if any are needed.’
A free training session for all businesses has been organised for Tuesday February 19 in the Corran Halls from 11am to 3pm.
‘We hope as many businesses as possible will show up to find out how they can address the issue of access in a broader sense. It’s not just about being accessible, it’s also about being usable. We won’t be able to get everything we want but we can start to sow the seeds,’ added Mr Tolmie.
Any BID4Oban members are asked to let the Stevenson Street office know they will be attending.
Oban and District Access Panel is keen that new builds and change of uses for premises ‘get it right from the start’ so its members try to comment on any applications that are lodged with planners.