New barriers in passageway discriminate against people with mobility issues, says disabled woman

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A disabled mum has complained she can’t get her wheelchair through new street barriers which delay her on hospital trips.

Isabelle Clement, 56, says she has always cut through Somerleyton Passage in Brixton when heading into central London from her home in Streatham Hill.

It is a useful route which saves her negotiating heavy traffic on her specialist tricycle which snaps on to her wheelchair – whether going to hospital or other trips.

Last week chicane barriers appeared on the street, making it difficult for her to get through.

Mrs Clement rides a three-wheeled hand cycle which clips on to her wheelchair.

Lambeth council installed the railings following complaints from residents about mopeds and motorcycles racing along the street.

But Mrs Clement said the barriers discriminated against people with mobility issues and go against the council’s own rules.

She said: “I use Somerleyton Passage all the time. It’s a very convenient road to take.

“I use it when I go into central London. I use it when I go to a hospital appointment.

“On Sunday I went to Hyde Park and was completely taken aback.

“I hadn’t cycled through since before Christmas so I had no idea about the barriers.

“It’s my route of choice and it has now become really inconvenient.

“I can just scrape my bike through them but it’s really unpleasant.”

She has been using Somerleyton Passage since the first lockdown in 2020, when Lambeth Council removed original barriers on the street.

Mrs Clement, who runs Brixton-based disabled cycling charity Wheels for Wellbeing, said she believed installing the metal railings went against the council’s own policy.

She said: “It’s like taking a hammer to crack a nut.

“You don’t just suddenly block the route of lots of people to deal with a few individuals who are being anti-social.

“They have not thought it through. It’s against their own policies and government guidance.

“We’ve just got to make sure we don’t make life more difficult for people. There are people with big mobility scooters who can’t get through.”

Cllr Scarlett O’Hara, Labour member for Coldharbour ward in Brixton, initially praised the barriers for making the street safer for pedestrians.

But after criticism from disability activists, she backtracked and said Lambeth Council would review the railings.

In a post on Twitter, she said: “In trying to help with an issue raised by residents about mopeds and motorcycles speeding through the passageway, it’s raised important issues on disabled access.

“I don’t think we got this right. We will go back and look at other options.”

Mrs Clement said she was pleased the council was listening but wished it hadn’t wasted money in the first place.

She said: “I was pleased the councillor said ‘we have not got it right.’

“The pathway needs to be repaired. It’s expensive for the borough which doesn’t have lots of money.”

Lambeth council has been contacted for comment.

Pictured top: Isabelle Clement struggles to get past the current barriers