Blue badge holders and business owners have been urged to attend a workshop in a bid to ease tensions over the pedestrianisation of Lichfield city centre.
The battle lines have been drawn on the issue since Lichfield District Council and Staffordshire County Council announced an 18 month trial which sees on-street bays removed and a ban on vehicles between midday and 9pm each day.
The move led businesses and disabled motorists to launch a petition aiming to force a u-turn on the proposals.
Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of Lichfield District Council, is now asking those impacted by the plans to attend a session to discuss the pedestrianisation proposals and suggest possible refinements ahead of enforcement starting towards the end of March.
A Lichfield District Council spokesperson said:
“The pedestrianisation, which is being trialled through an experimental Traffic Regulation Order, is being introduced to make the city centre more vibrant and attractive to visitors.”
Lichfield District Council spokesperson
The event will take place at Boley Park Community Centre from 6pm to 7.15pm on 9th March.
Due to the capacity of the venue, registrations from those wanting to attend will be taken on a first come, first served basis.
People can sign up to attend online.
To late now, lets do the trial, prove that Lichfield will benefit, and take it from there.
All this is not worth a pinch of salt unless foolproof monitoring systems are part of the trial
Other towns and cities have proven that pedestrian only areas are the way forward.
Ohhh wonderful weak council looking at back tracking on the new scheme which the public want…. Typical !!! Let’s hope the Blue Badge Brigade can park right outside the venue otherwise the discrimination card will certainly be played !!!!
just get in with the original plan for goodness sake.
You can tell there is an election on the way, the tories are scrapping the bottom of the barrel for votes.
Great news! Well done to all those involved in the petition. Perhaps now some solutions can be found to issues around access for Blue Badge holders and the changes to the city centre can benefit everyone, including those with disabilities. Pedestrianisation should be a positive move, not something that alienates one part of the community.
If Lichfield wasn’t full of old people this wouldn’t be contested so much.
The only thing that will make Lichfield more vibrant is economic growth, I have blue badge my dentist is on bore street, the idiot comments about the blue badge brigade show how pathetic individuals actually are, of like not to need a disability badge, of Lichfield council could just allow people to drive straight on past boot, obviously in a safe manner the market square wouldn’t be hindered in any way, people with disabilities, tend not to drive at speed or want to hurt people, biggest problem are those that deliver for McDonald’s and taxi driver
It is a nonsense to suggest that the centre can be pedestrianised and still allow traffic. In a pedestrian area you don’t have to keep looking over your shoulder. Who is responsible if you get run over?
There can be no compromise. The centre is intended for residents as well as tourists. If it proves impossible to enforce a total traffic ban then the status quo will have to remain.
Imagine the carnage of a car travelling down Green Hill and into the bistro bays on the streets.
It looks like the consequences make this unworkable.
Even now Market Street if hardly pedestrianised. Cars, vans, and motorised mobility scooters are particularly dangerous for the hard of hearing and those with sight problems and those with children.
Lots of cities have pedestrian area it really is best for the city proper planning and off street parking provides better access
I wondered how long it would be before the objectionable, ill-informed comments and whataboutery appeared. Some people just can’t resist being objectionable and bigoted, can they?
Stephen many blue badge holders never get out of their car the driver does
I do laugh at the comments about ‘blue badge brigade’ and all that flummery.
Do those of you commenting like that realise how nasty and uncaring you sound? I guess you don’t really care about anything but yourselves do you.
This pedestrianisation is a good idea and can work but it cannot be at the expense of those who can’t just stroll down to the bank/ dentist etc. I blame the Council for its inept handling of this & its weak communication skills for creating this animosity.
Seriously, have some empathy, you will be old or injured one day and may need to reconsider your views.
Stop moaning at those with genuine concerns.
I bet the same commentators having a pop on this topic also enjoy a good moan at young people hanging round Maccie d’s, kids from Birmingham being here, delivery drivers, I could go on. You’re the same lot aren’t you.
Mike- you have carried out a detailed and comprehensive survey to come to your conclusion, which in any case misses the point? Veteran ex army- so disabled people are the bottom of the barrel now?Philip- so mobility scooters are a problem now? What would you like disabled people to do- parachute into the city centre? Mr Legs- your usual standard of offensive posts, you must be very proud of yourself. Clare Sholl and Stephen make the most sense. Isn’t it strange that some people think they can speak for the whole population, Mr Legs?
I think a manned barrier should be the only option. But as there would be a cost, it wouldn’t happen. There is also a behavioural aspect, too many people go through there getting aggressive when pedestrians don’t move out of the way the second they appear.
How do other towns manage this? I don’t go often but Tamworth high street has banks etc, but no constant traffic flow.
I have found the level of abuse aimed at blue badge holders quite disturbing.
It reminds me of the history books.
People with disabilities were considered to be not acceptable in society.Read about Germany in the second world war.
Our country has spent a lot of time building up a better life for people with disability but gradually this is being eroded.
The hate speech on here against people with disability has been breathtaking.
If a business can’t survive without outside tables I would suggest you are not running a successful business and maybe you should have a rethink.
The traffic in Lichfield centre has always been low and as I’ve said before,bikes are a much bigger problem.
Have some empathy for goodness sake.
@Denise: I, too, find some of these comments disturbing. Several people have posted that they find these kinds of comments upsetting. I think it is important to remember that we have legal protections for those with disabilities because that is what a civilised society demands. People with disabilities are entitled to go about their daily life without being made to feel unwelcome, just the same as anyone else. Bullies will try and claim that they represent the majority in order to normalise their views, but their claims do not stand up to scrutiny, and the law is on the side of those experiencing discrimination.
Denise you cannot compare people not being allowed to drive down Bore Street to the Holocaust. Good god I have seen it all.
There is no legal requirement to be disabled to have and use a mobile scooter. There is no insurance or tax requirement nor testing, no eyesight test and a lower age restriction of 14. It is compulsory that they give way to pedestrians in all circumstances. Class 2 should go no faster than 4 mph and cannot be used on the road. Class 3 can travel at 8 mph on the road but 4 mph on pavements.
They cannot be used in cycle lanes.
As an environmentally alternative for city shopping they certainly have possibilities. Perhaps we should all get one.
Adela, I suggest you follow Denise’s advice and read about what happened to disabled people under the Nazis. Here’s one link you could try: Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | Disabled people (hmd.org.uk). The kind of hate speech appearing in some of the comments here is the first step towards repeating those horrors. Those writing them need to be reminded what hate speech is and what it can lead to.
@adela
Read about the run up to the second world war and what Germany thought was an acceptable citizen.
No you haven’t seen it all and your lack of historical knowledge of that period
Is depressing.
Beware everyone we’re on the brink of another holocaust and the next world war all starts here due to a few online comments in Lichfield. LOLing very hard right now.
According to Government statistics, hate crime targeting disabled people in the UK was up 43% to 14,242 incidents in the year to 2021/22. May be you find that funny, Alan; I don’t.
Disturbingly we are already a nation that is carrying out attacks on its minority inhabitants, it has a measure called the “Allport Scale” some of the measures put into place by this government has seen that out of a scale of 5, our people have reached level 4, particularly around immigration, however disabled also come under groups which can measure abuse against them on the same scale. Writing off remarks that place bias on a particular group is just the start of that slippery slope.
Explanation of the scale here on Wikipedia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allport%27s_Scale#:~:text=Allport's%20Scale%20is%20a%20measure,psychologist%20Gordon%20Allport%20in%201954.
@Denise “bikes are a much bigger problem”? In what way? I’m intrigued. I always thought several tonnes of metal travelling at speed would be more dangerous than a push bike. Looking forward to the explanation.
This country is so gaslit that ordinarily nice people are now saying very dangerous and radical things. Some of those views are on this website. They think they’re normal views. 🙄 But they’re not.
I don’t know where this will end but I know vile rhetoric and opinion leads to dangerous, nasty politics and a future that very few of us really want. Even Lichfield socially-right-wingers.
The current Tory party seems unable to self-manage and the gaslit far right nutters in its membership, alongside ordinary people who’ve been led to believe that all the ills and bad decisions here in uk are blameable on immigrants, the EU, ‘liberal-lefty-loonies’ anyone but themselves actually, feel that means they can be as nasty as possible to those less fortunate. Which is everybody other than them, right. 13 years…
They think the problems we’re facing are down to everyone but themselves.
Tories have ruled for 13 years and by god I was happier then than now. Bet you tory voters were too,.
Beggars belief that the venue for disabled drivers has limited space for drivers so again restricting turnout from the disabled community 🤷♀️only in Lichfield 🤦♀️
Could I please point out to the organisers that this mid week meeting will not represent the true feelings of the majority of Lichfield residents as all the people who work days will not be able to attend