Voter slams lack of disabled access at polling station
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A CAITHNESS village wheelchair user is ‘utterly disgusted’ after being almost unable to cast her vote at a by-election yesterday.
Twelve months ago, Helen Norton went to cast her vote at Reay village hall in the Highland Council election but struggled to enter the building due to a lack of disabled access.
A year later and despite complaints to the hall committee, she found she was still unable to enter the building and had to cast her vote outside with the assistance of a polling station official.
Mrs Norton (43), of Airde Na Mara, Reay, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, is disappointed that despite her complaints last year, no action had been taken.
"I was mortified with what happened at Reay Village Hall as the polling officer had to take the paper out to me in the car park," she said.
"I was utterly disgusted to find that the labelled disabled access is still a small concrete ramp up to a kerb high step, which is utterly impossible to access with my chair.
"When I complained last year the previous hall committee chairman came to meet me and said the issue would be rectified.
"But the problem is able-bodied people don’t see a step the same way as a disabled person does." Mrs Norton also criticised the Highland Council for designating the village hall as a polling station, claiming an alternative venue should have been used. "They obviously hadn’t checked it was disabled access-friendly," she said.
"Perhaps the location of the polling station should be re-assessed as the hall’s disabled access is a joke to say the least.
"Even a small portable ramp would solve this problem and not cost a fortune."
When contacted yesterday, the council’s Caithness ward manager David Sutherland was aware of Mrs Norton’s situation. He said Reay Village Hall is not owned by the Highland Council but that he would be taking up the complaint with the hall committee.
He said disabled access is one of the main factors when determining the venue of polling stations and said it would re-evaluate polling arrangements in Reay in future elections.
"We will look at what happens and discuss with the hall committee what improvements need to be made," he said.
"Presiding officers are asked to meet with disabled voters if they have an issue getting in and out of polling stations so we can do something about it.
"In rural areas, the difficulty we have is finding suitable places for polling stations. We try to avoid using schools because it would mean closing them to pupils for the day.
"If this continues to be an issue we will look at an alternative venue in the future."
