Extensions outside Christchurch Loch & Quay on Church Street would ‘discriminate against disabled’

A PROPOSAL to extend a restaurant and two shops in Christchurch town centre would make it difficult for disabled and the elderly, a meeting has heard.

The plan to change the exterior of the buildings, including Loch & Quay, on Church Lane by filling in columns was first approved in 2016 and 2020 but permission has since expired. Applicant Bond Estates now wants it to be granted approval again to make the changes.

Christchurch Town Council previously objected to the plans on the grounds that it would impede pedestrians along the pavement by creating a "choke point", and make it difficult for wheelchair users, those with walking aids and prams.

Addressing the council’s planning and regulatory committee, Paul Pulling, vice-chair of the Christchurch Access Group, said: "My disability is clear for all to see.

"I am bound to this wheelchair for mobility, and Christchurch, unfortunately, is not the most wheelchair-friendly town.

"We must also consider other disabled people using rollators, walking sticks and crutches as well as young families with pushchairs. This application is really going to make life difficult for anyone in those positions.

"If a buggy is coming the other way, one of us will be forced to go into the road."

Mr Pulling then said Christchurch councillor Viv Charrett had driven along the pavement along with others in the town in an electric wheelchair to experience for herself what it is like, saying: "It's one thing to see the camber and the bad state of the pavements but you would then have experienced what it's like for your centre of gravity to be shifted."

Cllr Charrett described the experience as “frightening”.

Resident Peter Fenning also pointed out: "In the last 30 years or so several footpaths and rights of way have been lost in Christchurch.

“The iconic Avon footpath is under threat and you also have in your agenda the possibility of a well-used right-of-way adjacent to the former HSBC bank just up the road being closed off.

"I ask the chairman that members actually pursue these matters."

The committee unanimously voted to object to the application on the grounds that the extension would be detrimental to pedestrians, that it would discriminate against disabled people and those with pushchairs, and that concerns the town council has previously raised about the right-of-way at the site have not been addressed.