A man from Fordingbridge whose leg was recently amputated has shared the difficulties adjusting to using a wheelchair which has led to questions about how accessible Salisbury really is.

James Burrows, 61, lost his leg after an 18-month battle with diabetes which started off with a foot infection, then a toe amputation, a failed vein transplant, and on September 2 he had his leg amputated below the knee. 

Reasonably well-humoured about the situation, the grandfather had worked as a disability equipment installer and now says “the shoe is on the other foot” as he relies on a wheelchair and realised that venues which advertise being accessible are often not. 

What people don't realise unless they're wheelchair users

In terms of getting used to the wheelchair itself, James said: “I’m quite fortunate because I’m still quite fit."

"If you weren’t you might struggle getting anywhere with it. You need a lot of upper body strength to move it around. Hills and slopes are the killers."

James highlighted that it is ‘tiny little differences’ which can impact wheelchair users, giving the examples of small steps infront of doors, or a disability slope being installed at a library without an accessible means to get there from the gravel carpark.

He said: “I have found people get up and help. People will stop and open doors and generally people are conscientious. You can’t go against the general public for their attitude.

"It’s only now that I’ve opened my eyes to realise, it’s the detail that’s important.”

An issue he mentioned with businesses who claim they are disability friendly is that sometimes their disabled toilets don't have enough space, meaning the door cannot be closed behind the wheelchair. 

He has also come to notice that the red pull cord in disabled toilets for use in emergencies is often tucked away by cleaners or customers where it can't be reached by those with access needs.

This is a major issue, he said, as: “If a disabled person needs it, they’re going to be on the floor. As embarrassing as that must be.

"I think the thing we’ve sort of noticed is that people have all good intentions, but they’ve never had to get around in a wheelchair.”

Where can I find wheelchair-friendly venues in Salisbury?

James’ wife of 27 years preferred not to give her name, but she contacted us to get a list of venues that were accessible in Salisbury as that is where they enjoy going out together. 

They’d contacted Wiltshire council and found that this list didn’t exist, which we confirmed when we also contacted the council, so we called on our readers to help put this list of more than 20 disabled access venues together.

She said: “How crazy that nobody has thought of this in the past.” 

“It is trying to find out where things are, without it taking hours. I haven’t got time. But we want to go out together and we want to have a nice time.”

James and his wife got married on the first ever National Lottery, his wife saying: “I thought we’d all be millionaires.”

In terms of how the operation has impacted him James said: “It’s totally blown my life away.

"The worst for me is that I can’t do the simplest things. We’ve recently moved, and I’m a person who would have moved us lock, stock and barrel, put every shelf up and done everything we needed to do. And I haven’t been able to do any of those things.

"And that is... it just makes you feel totally useless, and I can see why a lot of people would probably get very depressed and be in a black place.

"I’ve been fortunate that I’ve not been in a black place. I have felt down, but I’m looking forward to getting better.”  

How could Salisbury become a more wheelchair- accessible city?

Salisbury Journal:

Salisbury's Georgia Haggaty, 25, who uses a wheelchair got in touch to share suggestions of venues and some tips for navigating the city. 

She said: “In general Salisbury is no better or worse than other places, it just takes a lot of planning to go out when factoring in a wheelchair. 

“There is no such thing as ‘nipping to the shop’.”

She shared some of the aspects that Salisbury could improve on to become a more accessible city. 

This is Georgia's list of ways Salisbury needs to improve:

  • Not easy to find parking spaces
  • Not all disabled spaces have room on both sides of the car for a wheelchair
  • Sometimes people without a blue badge park in disabled spaces
  • Some pavements are a bit narrow to negotiate 
  • Some disabled loos are not very big for a wheelchair user and a carer, they don’t all have sanitary bins either
  • Some shops make it difficult to get around when they have rails/ shelves too close together and promotional sales stands in awkward places
  • It would be helpful if venues could have more information on their websites about accessibility as some don’t mention it even though we’ve found by calling that they have facilities

This is Georgia's list of suggestions:

  • More wheelchair-friendly changing places/bathrooms for example in the marketplace
  • Have more disabled parking spaces
  • Stop closing off disabled parking spaces when there are events in town
  • Venues could have a sign on their door to say what facilities they have

Salisbury and Wiltshire Council's accessibility commitments 

Neither Wiltshire Council nor Salisbury City Council had a list of accessible venues which have disabled access in the city, however Wiltshire added Salisbury City Council has accessible buildings and runs the Shopmobility scheme to help those with access-needs navigate the city.

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, SEND, Transition and Inclusion Cllr Jane Davies said: “We aim to support and enable people to live their lives fully, ensuring everyone has access to the opportunities and services they need to live well.

“As part of our decision-making process we consider equality impacts on all protected characteristics, including disability, when making policy or service changes or introducing new services. 

“Where potential impacts are identified we consult with stakeholders who may be impacted, including those with disabilities, and work with our community and voluntary sector partners, such as the Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living, to learn from the lived experience of residents.

“We will also be reviewing the Government’s Disability Strategy to ensure we are able to meet its aims and aspirations and will continue to strive to do what we can to improve outcomes for our residents.”

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