In his latest column, MP Robert Largan writes about improving accessibility of facilities across the High Peak.

Last Thursday, I spent the afternoon with an attractive blonde – a golden retriever named Maggie.

Maggie is a guide dog for Sarah, who lives in Buxton, and I went for a walk with the pair to see for myself the difficulties faced by those who are blind or partially sighted.

For the blind, or those with mobility issues, there are significant challenges on many streets, including pavement parking, bins left thoughtlessly in the middle of the pavement and the dangers of poorly maintained pavements with many tree roots being significant trip hazards.

Last week, I also met with the High Peak Access Group, a collective committed to widening the accessibility of facilities across the High Peak.

The 2010 Equality Act puts a public duty on building owners to make reasonable adjustments where disabled people would be put at a substantial disadvantage.

Despite this, however, I heard from the Group how many buildings are still lacking the necessary adaptations.

For this reason, I am pleased that the Government are undertaking a full review of existing building regulations related to access needs. In particular, the Government are looking to raise the standards expected of new homes.

It is also important, of course, that existing properties are adapted in such a way that older and disabled people can live independently and safely at home for longer. Significant progress has been made over the past decade, with over £4 billion invested through the Disabled Facilities Grant to fund adaptions for around 50,000 people but there is a lot more work to do.

Outside of people’s homes, more must be done to ensure that nobody is excluded from the everyday activities we all take for granted.

Whilst not the most glamorous of issues, I have long campaigned for improved public toilet facilities, particularly in Hadfield and Buxton. For many people, including pregnant women and men with prostate cancer, this can make a real difference in their ability to visit our town centres.

In Parliament, I helped successfully campaign to change the law to exclude public toilets from business rates, making it cheaper for councils to provide them.

Recently, £30 million has also been given to local authorities in England to invest in more Changing Places Toilets – larger accessible toilets for severely disabled people. I hope that High Peak Borough Council make the most of this opportunity.

At Chinley Station, where I have long-campaigned for step-free access, we are moving closer to positive change, with a very strong bid to the Access for All fund. I am supporting this along with Chinley & Buxworth Transport Group.

Whatever the next few weeks bring, I’ll be standing up for local people with disabilities.

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