Hi there,
I have a bit of a strange one. I moved to a
housing association property last year, sadly both the front and back entrances
are not level and I need to use wedges or ramps to get in and out of the
property in my powerchair.
My OT is great, she's been
working with the housing association and local authority to help me gain my
independence. I was turned down for a disabled facilities grant because at the
time I worked and earned too much, but my OT found other funding.
The asset manager for the housing
association is the biggest barrier for me, at first my only option was to have
work down at the back entrance because my powerchair was too big to get through
the front door, which he approved. I will be getting a smaller powerchair soon
that will fit through the front door, meaning less work need to be done and I
won't have to leave the back garden gate open, and unlocked when I leave the
home.
He denied permission to clear a couple of
bushes and level the front path rather than replace the back door and build a
permeant ramp because the property door thresholds need changing because the
powerchair going over them will damage them meaning I can't use wedges or
temporary ramps to enter/exit until the door thresholds are changed.
I have been using a wedge and
temporary ramp that my partner puts out for me when he's at home, for nearly a
year but it seems like we shouldn't have been doing this, because the asset
managers basis for denying the work needed is that the door thresholds will be
damaged when a powerchair goes over them. I know many other powerchair users,
with similar door thresholds that use wedges and ramps to enter and exit their
housing association homes with no complaints from their housing association, so
I have to ask are we in the wrong for doing this or is the Asset Manager of my
housing association out of order, if so, what can I do? please help. Thank you
for reading.
