2:55pm Tuesday 31st August 2010
A DISABLED widow has begun legal proceedings against Worcestershire County Council claiming that she is effectively “imprisoned” in her Wychbold home because the authority refuses to repair the pavement leading to her house.
Joyce Miller, a 74-year-old widow who relies on a walking frame to get out and about from her home in East Close in the village, first rang Wychavon District Council to explain that the uneven and poor state of the path meant she could not leave the house. She can not physically surmount the cracks and bumps.
She says she was told by the authority that it was a matter for the county council’s highways department and that they could not afford to repair the pavement and that there was nothing they were prepared to do. When she offered to pay for the council's contractors to repair the area, she was told this was illegal.
Mrs Miller then contacted Conservative Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff but was told to contact her local councillor.
This she did, inviting Councillor Mrs Judy Pearce, the Conservative deputy leader of Wychavon District Council and its executive member for planning, housing and health, to visit her home to see her predicament for herself.
Mrs Miller said: “She took me by the arm and walked with me onto the uneven area of the pavement and said to me 'There you are, all you need is for someone to walk with you'.”
Mrs Miller, a retired office manager, has now instructed her solicitor to begin legal proceedings, pointing out that the council's refusal to honour its legal obligations endangers her safety and well being and also infringes her human rights, as she is unable to leave the house.
“The only way I can get out of the house is to hire a taxi, which then backs up to my door and enables me to get in without having to try to get my walking frame over the broken pavement. It's the only means I can use to get to the shops or see someone. I don't think this is acceptable,” she says.
“Quite frankly, I just don't believe the council when it says it cannot afford to do these repairs. I have paid taxes and rates all my working life and as the council has a legal duty to maintain pavements in good, safe order, I expect that money I have paid to be used for that purpose. I also expect my elected representatives to look after my interests in this matter and not just say it's nothing to do with them.”
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: "Highways inspectors inspected the footpath at the end of June and we are currently reviewing the situation to check for any deterioration. If we find any defects that need to be fixed urgently, we will, of course, fix them as quickly as we can. Local people are always encouraged to report any problems to us directly. It can be done easily be calling the Worcestershire Hub on 0845 607 2005."
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