FOI request (FOIR-409134818)

Alexandra Park Cycle Route

Requested Fri 18 March 2022
Responded  Fri 01 April 2022

This relates to all the elderly, disabled, blind, mentally impaired, infirm and those with any other impairment or disability.

With particular reference to the lower part of Alexandra Park, nearest to the town, please could you send me the details of all the support and disability groups you liaised with and got approval from prior to giving the shared path the go ahead? Obviously you had a duty of care to ensure none of these groups were discriminated against when forcing them to share a mere 3m wide route with bicycles. The only alternative being to use the far more steep, winding, undulating routes. So I'm assuming you had approval from groups like those below that they deemed the route perfectly safe? From what I have read consulting with organisations representing all groups of people is a legal requirement to avoid discrimination against anybody whose enjoyment of the park is subsequently affected. For example, Age Concern, Mind, Age UK, Scope, Downs Syndrome Association, Handicapped Children's Action Trust, and RNIB.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Response

Hastings Borough Council established a working group in 2015 to discuss and assess the initial cycle route proposals. Members of the group included, Hastings and Rother Disability Forum, Friends of Alexandra Park, English Heritage, The Greenway Group, Hastings Urban Bikes, Ramblers Association, together with East Sussex County Council officers, and councillors from East Sussex County Council and Hastings Borough Council.

Hastings and Rother Disability Forum was, at that time, the representative umbrella organisation for disability groups in Hastings and Rother and spoke on behalf of disability users of the park.

As a result of working group discussions, the original plans were amended to take account of various issues.

The proposed scheme then went out to public consultation from 15th June to 21st August 2015.

Hastings Borough Cabinet agreed the route through the Park at their meeting in January 2016. Please see the link to the agenda and minutes:

https://hastings.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=1636&Ver=4