Mobility Scooter Users Concerned Over Blocked Access
Mike, Dale and Terry at the barrier near the Wool Road turning circle.
Disabled people who use mobility scooters say they are being prevented from moving around Saddleworth by blocked public footpaths.
Dale Hitchin, Mike Cannon and Terry Biltcliffe of Diggle invited Saddleworth News down to the Wool Road turning circle last week to take a look at one example.
A locked barrier has been put across a path by a developer, as building work takes place nearby.
Dale said: “It’s been here for 18 months to two years. Prior to that you could open it and get through.”
Blocked access to Huddersfield Road in Diggle. (picture: Terry Biltcliffe)
He added: “There are at least five of us in Diggle who have this problem. Most of us used to use it every day to get to the Delph Donkey or Uppermill, but it means there’s quite a lot of Saddleworth which is now cut off to us.”
The men can’t use the nearby Huddersfield Narrow Canal towpath because of the steps involved as it passes under Wool Road.
The builder concerned did not respond to a call from Saddleworth News. But Dale said the builder had previously told him the barrier was there for both health and safety reasons, and for security because items had been stolen from the building site in the past.
However, Dale said the route was a public right of way, a belief backed up by maps of the area, and has involved local parish councillor Lesley Brown in the hope she’ll be able to help them get the problem resolved.
She said: “I want access for all, and I’m very concerned about this. These gentlemen are exercising their dogs. Scooter users shouldn’t have to be put onto the road.”
The men said the Wool Road barrier is not the only place in Saddleworth where users of mobility scooters face this sort of problem.
Mr Biltcliffe took the picture on the right at the park near Wrigley Mill in Diggle, showing access to Huddersfield Road blocked.
Cllr Brown, who promised Mr Hitchin during the recent parish election campaign that she’d raise the matter if elected, said she’d already contacted the relevant officials at borough level about it, so we’ll have to see what transpires.
More information about local rights of way are available from Oldham Council here.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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