A DISABLED man says a council overhaul of Earlestown shops should include measures to make the town centre more accessible to people with disabilities

St Helens Borough Council is offering shopkeepers a 75 per cent capital grant to give the town centre a new image for the millennium.

But former quantity surveyor Barry Carmen, of Regent Street, believes the needs of disabled shoppers are being forgotten.

Said Mr Carmen: "To get around Earlestown in this wheelchair is an absolute nightmare - it's very difficult to get in 95 per cent of the shops.

"I think the council is ignoring the question of disabled access in these improvements. I believe the council should make it a condition of the grant. Public money is being doled out without any thought for disabled people.

"Manchester City Council has a team of people going around putting disabled access in, so why not in Newton?"

But Commercial Improvement Project Officer Mike Davis said it was impractical to make the changes. He said: "I am very much aware of the issue, and I sympathise with Mr Carmen's concerns. But putting recesses in for wheelchair ramps would take up two square metres of floor space in what are very small shops. It is likely that if we made disabled access a condition of the grant, many small retail units would not take advantage of them.

"We try to facilitate disabled access where we can but with the best will in the world, you can't force owners to go to those lengths. It would be costly, cause disruption to business, and possibly prompt claims for loss of earnings.

"The main purpose of this grant is to make visual improvements to Earlestown to encourage shoppers and make businesses more viable. No access to any property has been made any worse and in most cases, it has been improved."

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