Charity launches shared surface legal challenge

Paul Carter

A charity has been granted permission to apply for judicial review over a local authority’s plans to introduce a shared surface on a busy London street.

Guide Dogs was given the go-ahead by the High Court to pursue a legal challenge against Kensington and Chelsea over the £25m scheme earmarked for Exhibition Road, home to institutions including the V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum.

Shared surfaces typically involve removing the kerb, giving vehicles and pedestrians equal priority.

Guide Dogs believes shared surfaces are dangerous and inconvenient for blind and visually impaired people, who are often trained to use the kerb for navigation.

Carol Thomas, Access and Inclusion Manager at Guide Dogs said: “We believe that improvements for the area could be achieved without a shared surface
which is detrimental to blind and partially sighted people and other disabled people and vulnerable pedestrians. This is in line with the views of other disability organisations on the Exhibition Road access group.”

However, other disability charities feel that shared surfaces can be beneficial to some disabled people, particularly wheelchair-users or those with mobility difficulties.

Arunima Misra, an ambassador for the charity Whizz Kidz, recently took part in an ‘audit’ of Exhibition Road, advising councillors on how the project could improve access for wheelchair users.

She said: "As young people, we want to be able to enjoy the museums and
restaurants in the area with the same ease as non-disabled visitors. It is vital that street furniture is minimised, and road crossings and surfaces are friendly to those using mobility equipment.

“We look forward to watching the development, and remaining close to advising and testing access along the way."

A spokesman for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said the council were “disappointed” by the decision to allow judicial review and was considering its next steps.

He said: “We take the safety of all road users extremely seriously and have been working with Guide Dogs and other disability groups since 2004 to reach a design that makes the road accessible for the widest possible number of people. We have modified our original design to reflect the concerns of disability groups.