A disability campaigner has praised a decision to apply for funding to secure step-free access at some of the borough’s stations.
Conrad Tokarczyk, who lives in Ruislip , is campaigning for all London Underground stations to become step-free.
In October, the Mayor of London ’s office confirmed plans for a £75million fund to match contributions from councils and property developers for work to make stations more accessible.
There is no step-free access at Central Line stations in Ruislip, or at Ruislip, Ruislip Manor, Ickenham or Eastcote stations on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines.
There is also no step-free access at Hayes and Harlington or West Drayton overground stations.
But at a meeting on Thursday, November 20, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet agreed to authorise council officers to develop and submit a bid for some of the £75m fund to improve Eastcote , Ruislip and Northwood stations.
Mr Tokarczyk, a wheelchair user, who in February joined forces with the borough’s Paralympic double gold medallist Natasha Baker to campaign for stations to be made accessible to disabled people, said: “I’m really pleased that Hillingdon Council has decided to apply for funding and is determined to improve access at Eastcote, Ruislip and Northwood stations.”
He has also called on the council to use planning developments - like the Arla Foods site in Victoria Road, South Ruislip, in which the developer Citygrove paid around £2.7million to the council in Section 106 money and Community Infrastructure Levy - as a way of gaining step-free access to stations.
“I hope it will become common practice for councils to seek opportunities to use new developments to implement step-free access, by entering negotiations with Transport for London (TfL), when new development schemes are authorised,” Mr Tokarczyk said.
“It would be terrible to waste such a golden opportunity to provide step-free access at South Ruislip station because this sort of development doesn’t happen every day.”
Jean Palmer, deputy chief executive of Hillingdon Council and corporate director of residents’ services, said the council was actively involved in discussions with TfL to make stations more accessible.
“Delivering step free access at a station is often a major and expensive challenge and is not something a developer of another site would build; rather it is something TfL would deliver subject to the necessary funding being available.
“The council is pushing hard for the Mayor to invest as much of the fund as is possible in improving stations in Hillingdon,” she said.
