Pavements in one part of Cov are so bad woman 'fell out of wheelchair' as pensioners demand action

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One retiree fell out of a wheelchair while going down Albany Road



Older people in Coventry are suffering falls on their way to the local shops and in some cases have "given up" walking there because of bad pavements, a meeting has heard. People living in Earlsdon Park Retirement Village are among those demanding improvements to footways on Albany Road.

More than 90 people signed a petition calling for the move and around 18 residents of the housing complex turned up to a council meeting to hear their case on Wednesday (28 February.) But the council said replacing the entire stretch would cost £500,000, half their pavements budget, and an inspection in 2021-22 found the footway to be in an overall safe condition.

However, a councillor for the area said people living in the retirement village, which has a population of around 350, tell him every month how bad the conditions of the pavements are. Cllr Ryan Simpson from the opposition Conservative group added: "I've been given some harrowing stories of trips and falls, and in some cases people have been tipped out of their mobility scooters into the road."

People who have tripped and fallen have ended up in hospital and a man's wheelchair was broken twice after travelling on the pavement to the shops, he added. "So while we need to get more people out of cars, the pavements are driving them onto the roads in this case," he claimed.

"Most people have started to give up and are now getting in their cars and parking on Earlsdon high street to do this very short journey, which could be done, and people want to do on foot. And I just don't think that fits with the 'liveable neighbourhood' plans next door."

Cllr Simpson claimed the rating from officers didn't take account of the vulnerable people on the road. He said while they may not be able to repair the whole road, he hopes they can do the most dangerous parts "so people can stop falling over and ending up in hospital as a result of our pavements."

Speaking after the meeting, a resident of the housing complex told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she has stopped visiting the area. Laxmi Patel, 77, said she was walking down Albany Road - a "lovely place to shop" - when she twisted her ankle and ended up in hospital with a hairline fracture.

Her foot was in a boot for two months, she said. She's "now stopped going there," she said. "I am missing out a lot." Fellow resident Joanna Francis, 75, said residents understand there are budgetary constraints but feel the case is worthy of special attention because of the vulnerability and problems of people falling out of their wheelchairs.

"It's like a whole community is impacted and it stops them experiencing and using the facilities," she told the LDRS. But a council officer said its road condition score is "not anyway near" the worst one in the city.

There are 314 "worst footways" in Coventry but the council currently constructs about 0.25% of the whole of the city's pavements per year. "So we can't do a great deal, so we have to be really selective in what we can do," he added.

The footways had a detailed external inspection and safety inspectors carry out more regular surveys, will be picking up safety defects and repairing the paths, the officer said. But he confirmed that a section of the road will be in the council's annual programme for works, although this will need to go to the Cabinet for approval.

Labour's Cabinet Member for City Services Cllr Patricia Hetherton said she and her deputy Cllr Gavin Lloyd had been to the site. "What is clear is that as you know we can't do the whole, but we have to address the worst parts," she said.

Cllr Hetherton also said she was aware of the accident with the wheelchair and said residents should be able to access the area. She said they have listened and will be addressing the key areas that have been raised.

Cllr Lloyd, who is also a councillor for the area, said the issue has been raised over the last few years and the petition "strengthens that argument massively." He revealed that the person who fell out of their wheelchair was his aunt and he got a phone call early in the morning asking him to go out there.

"Since that I've been pushing hard that this road needs to be adhered and it needs to be fixed," he said. He added that they are in the hands of funding to get the full lot addressed and as much as he'd love it he's not going to make a promise it's going to happen.

"But every little improvement that can be made along that stretch, we'll hold these guys to account and make sure they do it."

[dutchman]

a council officer said its road condition score is "not anyway near" the worst one in the city.