A disabled resident has spoken out after finding disabled access routes onto Burnham-On-Sea beach are regularly blocked.
The lady, who has wishes to remain anonymous, says Sedgemoor District Council should do more to ensure Burnham’s main beach is open to all.
“The end of the disabled access ramp onto the beach near the Pavilion often ends in a large pool of water – and, sadly, this is a very frequent problem,” she says.
“Sand has been washed away from the end of the walkway, creating the permanent pool of water, making it unusable for disabled people trying to get onto the beach with mobility scooters or wheelchairs.”
“Another route onto the beach, the jetty ramp, is often surrounded by pools of water, again making it unusable for disabled people trying to get onto the main beach.”
She adds that a third route at Maddock’s Slade is “partly blocked with debris washed up by recent high tides and has a narrow entry around the main gate to navigate.”
“I fully appreciate that we’re in the middle of a lockdown with limited council staff able to resolve these things, but disabled people should be able to enjoy local exercise breaks on the beach like others.”
A spokeswoman for Sedgemoor District Council says the authority is aware of the access issues and intends to resolve them soon by moving sand to re-open the main access routes onto the beach.
“There are very high tides forecast over the next few days, so we are waiting until they have passed,” she added. “If we did the work now, it could be in vain.”
“As soon as we can get a digger down there, we will do so – we don’t have the machinery ourselves so have to rely on busy contractors.”
