this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
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Disability campaigner unable to collect award on stage due to no ramp (www.bbc.com)
submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Despite a ramp being available, staff presumed Ms Landre didn't want one

??????

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

A woman who was given the Freedom of the City of London for her disability campaigning says it is "absurd" she was unable to collect the award on stage due to not being offered an accessible ramp.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not as ludicrous as it sounds.

Before I continue, I just want to state that what I'm about to say doesn't excuse what happened. I'm merely trying to give a reason why the ramp may not have been used.

Health and safety regulations specify how steep an access ramp can be. Depending on the height of the stage, this might mean the ramp needs to be very long. Having a ramp around that was/is used for something else doesn't mean it was necessarily suitable for this use case.

I organised events for over decade up until covid, and the ramp requirement was always a question on my checklist for this exact reason. The blame here almost certainly lies entirely at the feet of the organisers, not the poor sods on the front line who were (probably) provided inadequate equipment.

That's my take anyway

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Your take is well reasoned and kind, but there is a picture of the stage in the article. It's roughly 2 ft high. There are two very short steps to mount it.

I cant think of a single ramp that would be available as a "ramp" that would not work in this circumstance. A standard 5x5 ft sheet of plywood would have been more than enough to have a very gentle grade to this particular stage.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Haha, true. Guess I should have at least clicked the link!

Simply can't understand why they wouldn't use the ramp they apparently had available then

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

"She doesn't need a ramp, she can just walk up the steps"

[–] SkyezOpen 2 points 4 months ago

She didn't campaign for it.