Runnymede Access Liaison Group

Chairman

Jonathan L. Fisher

10 Runnymede Court, High Street, Egham, Surrey TW20 9AA

Tel. 01784 435622 or by e-mail
ralg@jlfisher.demon.co.uk

2008 Annual General Meeting - 19th May to be held at The Addlestone Community Centre, Garfield Road, Addlestone KT15 2AH.  The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7.30pm.

Representatives of any organisations with an interest in Runnymede's residents with a special need or impairment are welcome to attend.

After a short business meeting which will appoint officials and representatives for the coming year, there will be a general committee meeting at which access issues with the Runnymede Borough will be discussed.

The group was set up by the Borough Council in 1991 to advise them on access to Runnymede's public buildings and facilities such as Runnymede Civic Centre, Public halls, Parks and Day Centres.

The chairmanship is shared between Jonathan Fisher and Mike Fuller.

We have meetings approximately 5/6 times per year and we are unusual in that we carry out visits to sites to do audits. Our next meeting will be on 25th September. The things we look at on our Audits include such issues as:

• Disabled parking bays
• Drop kerbs
• Reception desk height
• Lift access
• Internal doors
• Signage

As you can see from the list our Audits are comprehensive, however at the moment my group is going through a crisis in regard to meetings and Audit attendance, which could mean our invaluable Audits may cease.

We rely on people with a range of disabilities to attend our meetings and audits so that all views can be taken in to account whether Physically disabled like myself, visually impairment or deaf etc.

One thing I have been told over the years is how different a disabled person looks at a problem coming from the stand point of being physically disabled as opposed to a person with a different disability, all view points are invaluable and help to improve our environment.

This is why we need more members in key areas such as:

• Mental health service users
• People with learning difficulties
• Deaf and the hard of hearing
• Wheelchair users
• Ambulant disabled

The group runs on a voluntary basis and has limited funding, but if you have trouble getting to meetings we can look into paying travel expenses.

If you are interested in joining our group and making a real difference, please contact Jonathan Fisher, I am happy to receive e-mail or written, (preferably printed) comments at my home address: Jonathan L. Fisher, 10 Runnymede Court, High Street, Egham, Surrey TW20 9AA

Telephone 01784 435622 email: ralg@jlfisher.demon.co.uk

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries.

Jonathan L. Fisher.

For more information about Runnymede Access Liaison Group and its Constitution click here