In News

Actress Julie Fernandez, who is known for her role in The Office, has backed the Peterborough Unlimited initiative, which has also got the backing of local journalists and disability rights campaigners.

Julie lives in Peterborough and alongside Graham Barnes, Disability Consultant, are hoping to improve access and facilities for disabled visitors and residents.

Speaking about the campaign, Julie said to reporters: “In Peterborough, we have around 50,000 disabled residents and a lot of us will actually travel to somewhere like Spalding or Milton Keynes and other places to do our shopping because it’s more accessible, easier to park, more toilet facilities and the shop staff have better training on disability.”

Peterborough Unlimited is calling for better routes into, out of and around the city, more disabled toilet facilities and more blue badge parking spaces.

Graham Barnes told reporters: “We all like to be able to go into town and shop and if we can’t, we have to potentially go elsewhere or we have to get somebody to go and do it for us. In this day and age, in 2021, we should be able to go shopping and get home again safely.”

He went on to say that the best route to and from the city’s railway station still involves steep slopes, which can be challenging for those who use wheelchairs.

The council leader, Wayne Fitzgerald, said that changes are already being made. He said: “One of the first things I did when I became leader was to introduce a disability champion. The second thing is about toilets. I’ve already asked officers to conduct a review of toilets with a view to putting some new ones in the city centre. As for blue badge parking, again, if people have suggestions, I think we’ll look at those. Where we are today, just near the town hall, I think this whole street, more or less is all disabled Blue Badge Parking.”

The campaign is being led by the local newspaper, the Peterborough Telegraph.

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