WILTSHIRE Council has been branded as uncaring after disabled visitors to the byways near Stonehenge had to contend with months of closures.
The droves surrounding Stonehenge offer visitors the chance to get close to the internationally renowned stones without paying to park at the English Heritage visitor centre car park.
But the byway off Willoughby Close in Larkhill was closed earlier this year as Wiltshire Council carried out resurfacing works after they said “certain vehicles caused significant damage” to the road surface.
It added that it was considering possible restrictions to the byways following “inappropriate use” during large gatherings, such as some people setting up long-term encampments.
While pedestrian access was maintained throughout the closure, this meant little to those who cannot walk long distance, such as the elderly and the disabled.
The byway reopened in time for the autumn equinox on Monday (September 22), and protestors gathered at the byways entrance to inform others of the issues and have their voices heard.
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The byway reopened to vehicles in time for the autumn equinox yesterday Picture: Salisbury & Avon Gazette
The protest featured members of the group Enable the Disabled-Stonehenge (ETDS), a 90-year-old professor Terence Meaden who has extensively studied Stonehenge, and pagans – all of whom were disappointed with how Wiltshire Council treated disabled visitors to the site.
Lou Barnes from ETDS said: “Disabled and infirm people want to attend Stonehenge or access the surrounding landscape at sunrise or sunset outside of English Heritage hours just like everyone else.
“Age, disability and religion are protected characteristics but Wiltshire Council do not seem to care nor be inclusive.
“People want to be enabled. Astonishingly, Wiltshire Council have told us after a complaint was raised that the byways are accessible to us on foot, by bicycle, moped and horse.
“There is a clear lack of diversity training and understanding of the needs of the elderly, disabled or infirm people.”
While the byways was accessible by foot, those with a wheelchair were not able to travel up the road as there was not a large enough gap to fit a wheelchair.
The disability access point Picture: Lou Barnes
And Lou said this was never practical, as many disabled people would be unable to travel along the mile walk to the stones as many require a vehicle to keep medical equipment nearby.
She believes Wiltshire Council should have carried out a Public Sector Equality Duty Assessment – a legal requirement.
The council failed to respond to queries about whether this assessment was carried out, but confirmed that workers were on site for only 19 days through the months of closures to carry out surface repairs.
Leader of Wiltshire Council councillor Ian Thorn, said: “The byways were closed to vehicles only while we carried out resurfacing works, however access remained open for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders, and disabled buggies.
“Disabled access to the Stonehenge monument was maintained via the visitors centre, throughout the closure.
“Because of the type of surface material used, we needed the right ground conditions to be able to complete the works required.
“There were also some delays in getting the materials we needed, so our team was on site for a total of 19 days to complete the resurfacing work.”
Lou made several complaints about the issue to Wiltshire Council, and she is waiting for a copy of the PSED assessment from a Freedom of Information request.
She added: “We are bitterly disappointed and feel let down by the lack of inclusivity and we are also astonished by the clear lack of oversight being provided by the executive of Wiltshire Council as procedures and internal policies appear to be being circumvented.
“Wiltshire Council claim that ‘everybody matters’ but clearly persons with protected characteristics do not.”
Visitors have been making the most of the reopened byway Picture: Salisbury & Avon Gazette
One of the protestors, Maryam Halcrow, who first came to experience the summer solstice at Stonehenge in 1984, has difficulties walking the long distance up the droves due to her asthma.
“Once English Heritage moved the disabled toilets at the visitor centre car park, I started coming to the droves to visit the site,” she said.
“Wiltshire Council seems to close the byway each year to carry out resurfacing works and it means the area has sadly now become quite inaccessible to me.
“We know that Wiltshire Council wants to permanently close the byways, as evidenced in 2018, and now they are trying to do it surreptitiously.”
Wiltshire Council banned vehicles using the byways in 2018, but this was overturned by a High Court judge after the Trail Riders Fellowship took the council to court.
King Arthur Pendragon – a senior druid and pagan priest who has long campaigned for free access for all to the site – previously told your Gazette that he believes Wiltshire Council want to see the byways closed permanently as part of a calculated move to push people into paying to park at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre car park.
“In my opinion, Wiltshire Council, working in concert with English Heritage (heretics as I refer to them) and the police, are and have for some while now been trying to re-designate all the byways open to all traffic within the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge by enforcing traffic restrictions upon them for one purpose and one purpose only, that of revenue protection,” he said.
“Which, if they succeed, would give English Heritage an unfair monopoly on parking in the World Heritage Site allowing them to levy a charge on anyone attending Stonehenge and the surrounding environment.”
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