Disabled Access Ramp Plan Refused

A council has moved to end a disabled access row which ended up going before the Scottish Executive at one stage.

Dundee City Council has refused to let the Royal Bank of Scotland stop up part of the pavement in Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, for an access ramp.

Planning officials said the footpath was too narrow and the ramp could be contained in the building instead.

Earlier this year, the council’s decision to reject planning permission for the ramp was overturned on appeal.

However, the Royal Bank of Scotland still needed the authority’s agreement to stop up the pavement.

That application was unanimously rejected by the council’s planning and transport committee on the recommendation of planning officials.

Its report said the ramp would reduce the width of the footpath to 1.8m, which was “considered to be unacceptably narrow given the high levels of pedestrian movement in Brook Street.

It added: “The director of planning and transportation is still firmly of the opinion that the proposed ramp would compromise pedestrian safety and that a stopping up order should not therefore be promoted.”

There is no right of appeal against a decision to refuse a stopping up order.

The Royal Bank of Scotland told the BBC Scotland news website it had not received official confirmation of the council’s decision.

A spokesman said: “The Royal Bank of Scotland takes its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act very seriously indeed, and we are committed to providing level access wherever this is possible.

“With regard to our branch in Broughty Ferry, a request for a stopping up order was submitted to allow us to proceed with the necessary construction work.

“We are now awaiting a decision from the planning authorities.”

Earlier this year, the Scottish Executive overturned a decision by Dundee City Council to block planning permission for the ramp.

The Royal Bank of Scotland argued in its appeal that the council had given insufficient weight to the wider community benefits of the proposal.

It also claimed providing disabled access inside the branch would require a complete remodelling of the interior of the building.

Executive reporter Krystyna Robinson, who heard the appeal, said the ramp would benefit wheelchair users, people with prams and others who may find difficulty with the two steps to the entrance.

She added: “I have no reason to doubt the conclusions of the bank that an external permanent ramp would be the only viable option.”