Pensioner's 2-year fight with council over refusal of ramp outside her home

Her son has to take apart and reassemble her mobility scooter every time she wants to use it outside the home

The son of a pensioner at loggerheads with the council over a mobility ramp for her bungalow says he is "banging my head against a wall" trying to get a solution. Michael Thornton's mother Margaret Barrett, 84, frequently needs to use a mobility scooter to get around due to her age and arthritis.

But her home's proximity to a wall in the front garden and to a communal grass area at the back, as well as her limited ability to walk and the unsafe nature of a temporary ramp, mean the council won't install a permanent ramp for her at either side of the property. Instead, her son has to take the mobility scooter apart and put it back together again outside anytime his mother wants to use it outside.

Michael said: "I've been in conversation with the council for about five years. You bang your head against a wall, passed from pillar to post and fobbed off. I'm trying to make her life easier - not just for her but for me, too. I'm 55, I'm a single foster parent and they don't care. She's not asking for millions and she doesn't want to move house. She's lived there for 30 or 40 years and loves it."

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Council chiefs say they are looking into options for the back of the property, and communal areas, and insist they are committed to working with Ms Barrett so her access needs can be addressed.

Ms Barrett first experienced problems at her council owned-bungalow in Radford in 2022, after the home was cladded in 18-inch thick material as part of a project to modernise and insulate the properties. But the family say the cladding was so thick that it left the footpath outside her front door too narrow for her to even walk down, never mind get her scooter down.

The council knocked back a section of an opposing wall to rectify the issue and allow her to walk down the path. They said at the time that they'd "be in touch" with Ms Barrett to discuss widening the footpath further so her scooter could fit down it.

But Mr Thornton says this never happened. And the council's refusal to put a ramp outside the back door, which Mr Thornton told Nottinghamshire Live about at the time, remains a problem.

Initially, Mr Thornton says he was told that a ramp at the back of the property wasn't possible because it would be installed later than when the property was built and wouldn't be suitable. Now, he says he's been told that a ramp would impede a lawnmower cutting the communal grass outside the homes every few months.

After pleading, Ms Barrett, who has vascular dementia, was given a fold-up temporary aluminium ramp earlier this year. But Nottingham City Council has now said this is unsafe, and are planning to return to the property to collect it.

Nottingham City Council told Nottinghamshire Live at the time that Ms Barrett did not meet the criteria for a ramp because her ability to still walk meant she was not eligible for a wheelchair on the NHS. Mr Thornton says she has since deteriorated, and while she still retains limited mobility, argues that he is "planning for the future", whereby in six months, his mother may not be able to walk.

A spokesperson for the city council said: "We are working with Mrs Barrett to sort access concerns at property. A temporary ramp was trialled, but it was too unsafe for her to use due to uneven ground.

“We are now looking at options around the rear access, over the communal area, which would need permission, and we are looking into this. We will continue to support Mrs Barrett to make sure that her access needs can be addressed.”