Madam,

It is good to read that more businesses will be able to use parts of both the north and south promenade to provide refreshments.

Before licences are granted, please could Ceredigion County Council ensure that all residents and visitors can make use of these facilities. While we all want to encourage children and young people to enjoy running, playing and cycling on the prom, this is also an opportunity to consider the needs of the elderly, frail, deaf, blind and those with poor mobility, so that they can join in the fun.

As a mobility scooter and walking aid user, I find that fewer and fewer coffee and food outlets in Aberystwyth are accessible. Many have a step or steps but even those without steps have so many tables that it is very difficult to manoeuvre a scooter, wheelchair or even a walker around them. I imagine that it is not easy either for those with pushchairs. Town centre cafés with room for pavement tables are good when the weather is fine.

This is a real opportunity for the council to comply with the Disabilities Discrimination Act which states “The DDA grants a person with a disability the right to access everyday services. Access is not only about a physical means of entry; it is about making services easy to use for everyone”.

So the new premises, and the existing diner, on the promenade, should make it easy for the disabled to draw alongside the serving area, if there is no waitress service, and to have plenty of room to move around tables, and to have help if necessary.

Disabled people value freedom and independence and the ability to access the same facilities as everyone else, especially when they fancy a trip along the promenade on their own.

Yours etc, Beryl Thomas Queen’s Road, Aberystwyth.

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