PORTABLE ramps to improve access to shops that are difficult to get into are being distributed in Hay-on-Wye.
The ramps are to enable people with mobility issues, pushchairs or wheelchairs to get into businesses in the town centre that have steps outside or other obstacles. They are being installed as part of a £20,000 project called ‘Shared Spaces’.
The portable ramps are easy to use and shopkeepers have been given a guide which tells them how to use them effectively.
The project was given a boost in August last year when Hay Town Council gained a grant of £10,000 from Natural Resources Wales. One of the ramps has been supplied to Number 2 clothes and homewares shop. Paralympic champion Josie Pearson, who is Hay’s deputy mayor, was among those present when the new wheelchair arrived. Among businesses with a portable ramp are: Rohan Travel & Outdoor Clothes and Gear, Golesworthy’s, Number Two, British Red Cross, Bain and Murrin and Eve’s Cafe. All of them have been given a sticker with a wheelchair-friendly image on it to put in their window.
Cllr Pearson said: “As a wheelchair user, I know how difficult it can be to enter some of Hay’s shops, and it is something I’m keen to improve. Look out for the wheelchair-friendly stickers in shop windows, and staff in these shops will be able to provide a ramp for you.”