New disabled toilets are ‘really good’ news for Boston, mum says
The mum of a wheelchair user who is officially opening a new disabled toilet in Boston[1] says it is “really good” news for the town. Marlene Fullwood, 56, will be joining her son Joe, 20, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle-wasting genetic condition[2], to formally open the new toilet in Central Park on Friday, June 30.
There will be four new toilets in total, located at Lincoln[3] Lane, Wide Bargate, Central Park and Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex, and they will include an adult changing bench, hoist facilities and extra space for carers. Boston Borough Council has recently started the work on the new toilets after receiving £210,000 from the government as part of the changing place toilets (CPTs) scheme in venues with the greatest need for funding.
Mrs Fullwood lives in Benington with Joe and her husband, and said Joe was invited to cut the ribbon for the new Central Park toilet by the deputy chief executive of Boston Borough Council, Adrian Sibley. She said: “There aren’t many public toilets in Boston so how do wheelchair users manage?
Poll – Have you experienced problems with potholes on Lincs’ roads?[4]
A Changing Places toilet (Image: LDR)
“There is just not enough room for a carer, me and Joe in normal toilets. He can’t really stand up, only for a few seconds at a time when he is supported, so he can’t just get out of his chair. We have to plan before we go anywhere where Joe can go to the toilet and we have to drink a lot in this weather.”
She added: “The new toilets will make a lot of difference if the council can make them clean and if only the people that need them, use them. It’s much easier to go in somewhere and it’s geared up for a disabled person and isn’t just an afterthought.
“It will help lots of people and not just people in wheelchairs. Boston can get bad press but this is really good for the town.”
Councillor Dale Broughton, deputy leader and portfolio for town centre development at Boston Borough Council, said: “This is excellent news for residents and visitors of Boston, creating more accessible facilities for those that need it most. This is a very important step for integration and social equality.
“Increasing the number of Changing Places Toilets will help make our public places more accessible and will make a huge difference to the lives of disabled people, their carers and their families. By bringing these additions to our area, it will bring us closer to having the right facilities available where people who need to can access them.
“I hope that it will make it easier for disabled people and their families to enjoy activities that many take for granted, whether going shopping or attending a local event.”
The Central Park toilet will be formally opened at 3pm on Friday, June 30. The works for the other toilets are due to be completed by the end of July 2023 and works on the facility at Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex will be incorporated into the Boston Leisure Project which is part of the Boston Town Deal funding, with works expected to start later in the year.
References
- ^ Boston (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ genetic condition (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Lincoln (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Have you experienced problems with potholes on Lincs’ roads? (ngx.me)