Almost #DeniedMyVote

Post Voting Complaint:

Dear X,

I understand that in addition to your position as Chief Executive of Medway Council you hold the position of Returning Officer for Medway. At the European Elections on 23-5-19 the polling station for Chatham Central Ward was the Scout Hut on Boundary Road. I am writing to draw your attention to the access to the hut for wheelchair users being so bad as to constitute a danger. And an obvious one at that.

Yes, the hut does have a wheelchair ramp, but the wheelchair ramp is actually the shallowest part of the approach from the road. While Polling Stations, as existing buildings, are not in general subject to the updated Building Regulations, Approved Document M: access to and use of buildings, Volume 2: Buildings other than Dwelling provides some useful guidance on minimal standards for access to public buildings. In particular, paragraph 1.7 notes that there should be ramped access for any gradient over 1 in 20 on the approach to the building. Paragraph 1.13 suggests an overall gradient for the approach of no more than 1 in 60, or of 1 in 20 with level landings for every 500mm rise.

I would estimate the gradient between the road and the Scout Hut at 1 in 5 or greater, and the unramped rise at somewhere between 1200 and 1500mm. Beyond failing to come even close to the recommendations of the Building Regulations, this gradient is clearly well in excess of any appropriate slope for wheelchair users as wheelchairs are in general unstable and at immediate risk of tipping backwards at any gradient over 1 in 10.

Additionally paragraph 1.14 of Part M specifies the need for on-site parking for wheelchair users to allow them to drive to the location and then have space to access their wheelchair. The Scout Hut on Boundary Road offers no off-road parking and ‘limited on-road parking’ was notified on my polling card. When I went to vote there were no parking spaces visible in either direction for a considerable distance, all parking spots being taken by residents. As I was the only person attempting to vote during the whole of my visit, there was no possibility that I had simply arrived at a busy time. As a wheelchair user who needs to be able to park in close proximity to my polling station, I was left with no legal option for parking if I wished to vote. I consider this a completely unacceptable imposition and further evidence that the site is unsuitable.

Having parked, I wheeled to the entrance of the site. Someone standing there, probably a party teller, immediately offered to push me up the slope, demonstrating that the inappropriate nature of the entrance was readily visible even to non-wheelchair users. I told them that I preferred to attempt the slope myself. However, it was immediately apparent that not only was the slope so steep that my being able to push myself up it was questionable, but that, even lying with torso across thighs to lower my centre of gravity, the slope was such that I was in immediate danger of falling backwards in my wheelchair either onto the concrete slope, or out into the road (I would additionally note here that my chair is set up to be more stable than most active user wheelchairs). At this point the Presiding Officer came running out and pushed me into the building, while I expressed my opinion of the suitability of the venue in a forceful manner. I believe the term I used was ‘utterly ridiculous’. She noted that she would report the issue.

I then voted and was offered assistance to leave. I told the staff that I would probably be all right going downslope. This was overoptimistic. When I attempted to brake the slope was so steep that my wheels started to slip on the concrete. I was forced to release braking pressure (manual wheelchair users brake using their palms) in order to regain control of the chair and barely avoided an uncontrolled emergence onto the road. This was on a completely dry slope, and with good tyres on my chair. The risk of a wheelchair user being unable to control their chair on the slope in wet weather and potentially being forced onto the road in front of traffic is clear.

Incomprehensibly, my polling card displays the Wheelchair Symbol next to the map, implying the Polling Station location is accessible. This is clearly not the case.

I recognise that there may be difficulty in finding appropriate Polling Stations, particularly when elections occur at short notice. However Polling Stations must be accessible to all voters and no voter should be denied their vote for reason of disability. Nor should they be exposed to danger while casting their vote. Access to the Scout Hut at Boundary Road for wheelchair users is so clearly dangerous that I feel fully justified in saying it must never be used as a Polling Station again.

Yours,

David Gillon
 

Linkspam: The Wrens of WATU

(I've seen this before, but I'm not sure I linked to it, and if I did, it may have been a copy without the second article).

Fascinating article on the Wrens of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit, who gamed U-boat and escort tactics during the Battle of the Atlantic, sometimes in real-time, in order to try and improve the defence of convoys. Including one 18yo Wren rating who repeatedly humiliated WWI submarine ace Admiral Sir Max Horton when he was playing the u-boat commander.

The other article in the file on the wartime life of Anne Grace, and her biography in 'The Girl From Station X' is also worth reading - a socialite who ended up in the WAAF and was eventually posted to Bletchley Park. The emphasis sounds slightly different from a lot of the Bletchley Park stuff as she was on what we'd nowadays call the exploitation side of the process, dealing with decoded Enigma information rather than cracking it. And if her diaries are as detailed as this makes out, she was doing a damned sight more than bending the Official Secrets Act!

And for something completely different, a Brexit game. There's also a podcast I've not yet listened to on the general subject of Brexit games.