Ride with me…… Helen’s Wheels and Cllr Mike Ross

I started the “ride with me” campaign to highlight what a life on wheels could look like. It is not a fun jolly exercise to mess around in wheelchairs for a couple of hours but a chance to experience the highs and lows of daily living.
I was contacted by Hull City Council recently to ask if I would accompany the leader of the council, Councillor Mike Ross, around some of the civic buildings, testing out accessibility. Of course, I said YES! But this wouldn’t be my standard roll through, this was going to be a “Ride with me”, where I would let Cllr Ross lead me around the buildings in a wheelchair.
As a frequent visitor to The Guildhall in Hull, I know most of the public facing spaces quite well, and far more of the staff spaces than I should, so I know many of the pitfalls of such a stately building and I had already prepared to show the “other side” when things are not designed with access in mind.
We were accompanied by Simon (equalities officer) & Richard (all things buildings and fixtures), both armed with notebooks and an understanding from me that they were not to help or assist Cllr Ross in anyway.
It was encouraging to see that Cllr Ross was keen to experience moving round in a wheelchair and was prepared to lead the way, setting off at a great rate of knots towards the lift.

A white piece of paper with black writing on it saying "Out of Order, reported to engineer" taped to the lift call button

Unsurprisingly, the main lift at the Guildhall was out of order. This is a regular occurrence. So much so, that I have developed a love/hate relationship with the 3 lifts within the building. This was to be Cllr Ross’s first experience of things not going to plan.

We now had to trundle the full length of the building to get to the other lifts to go up one floor. Thankfully, I had full battery available to me on my chair, and Cllr Ross was still going off at full speed at this point. It took no time at all to get back to the front of the building and into the fancy public rooms.

A long stately corridor with high arched ceiling, two figures in wheelchairs look like they are racing each other into the distance.

A man in a wheelchair, reaching up to open a large glass panelled door

Another first for Cllr Ross was navigating the heavy doors into the grand Reception room, a stunning room with a great chandelier in the centre over a sprung dancefloor covered in a thick pile blue carpet. Carpets and wheelchairs do not make good bedfellows as Cllr Ross discovered. The change in floor surface from stunning marble or polished wood to a carpet made it harder to manoeuvre himself around in the manual chair.

I took this opportunity to do a practical exercise with Cllr Ross, regarding the importance of the red cords in accessible bathrooms. I asked my willing volunteers if they could set up a chair in front of Cllr Ross. The scenario was now to transfer from wheelchair and onto the “toilet” in front of him. Great, no problem. Now to transfer the other way, this is where most wheelchair users are more vulnerable. All the grab bars at this point tend to be behind the user, making it a prime time for falls.

A room full of chairs and tables in the background, with a man laid on the fall in front of a wheelchair

With Cllr Ross laid on the aforementioned carpet, as if he had just fallen, I asked him to reach the red cord I was dangling down behind him. If the red cord is not touching the floor, but tied up above waist height, it makes it more dangerous for the stricken person to call for aid. With this warning ringing fresh in the ears of those in the room, I asked Cllr Ross if he wouldn’t mind using the accessible toilet available outside the reception room.

A wooden door with a brass plaque showing the toilet signs for the ladies room and the accessible toilet

The accessible toilet is accessed through the ladies’ toilet door, which can make for awkward encounters in the narrow corridor. A sharp, right-hand turn into a very crowded space brings you to the toilet space. Thinking back to beautiful, carpeted room, I asked Cllr Ross to pull the red cord to summon help as he had just “fallen” in this toilet. Cllr Ross, Simon and Richard looked for the cord. The resounding “Oh” was deafening. No cord to be found, furious notes scribbled in various books, I do expect action after this visit.

Leaving the toilet behind, we moved into the magnificent Banqueting Hall, featuring amazing artwork, rich wood wall panelling and flooring and for many events there would have been a low platform stage set out, but without a ramp. For all the occasions I have attended events here, there has never been a ramp. “We had one for the freedom festival event” – sadly, it was only visiting. More notes scribbled. “It never occurred to me that we didn’t have a ramp,” said Richard. The mantra, you don’t know what you don’t know applies here. This is why it is important to listen to someone’s lived experience in such cases.

2 wheelchair users and a standing man in deep discussion

two wheelchair users on a rich burgandy coloured carpet surrounded by high wooden pew like structures

At this point, I asked Cllr Ross if I could see the council chamber. I know there are a few councillors who are wheelchair users and I was interested in seeing first-hand what they experience. Everything about this room exudes pomp and ceremony, from the heavy leather clad doors to the white rose encrusted ceiling, all 365 of them! This room is the heart of the council and has witnessed some magnificent orators over the years and will continue to be the focal point and the heartbeat of the council for years to come.

It is not an accessible space. Cllr Ross was using a narrow base wheelchair for the day, and he was unable to fit it between the rows to be able to access his designated seat in the chamber. I discovered that the councillors that use wheelchairs are seated behind the benches, with an old wooden table to sit at, not even a height adjustable one at that!

We had plenty of discussions around how the chamber could be improved without destroying any of the fixtures and fittings. I was encouraged to hear some of the suggestions but with most things, it will never be a simple job.

As much as I want to see Hull become a fully accessible city, I am not one for wanting to rip out everything that is inaccessible to make it so. Like most major projects, careful planning and consideration play a large part, as does the finances. Having a listed building is no excuse to not seek to make it accessible. Money is the biggest barrier most people face when seeking to make changes.

Disability is the biggest minority group that anyone can join, at any time, with no discrimination. Some people will only have a day pass, or a season ticket, but others will experience something that gives them significant access for an unspecified time. It isn’t a case “if” I join the group, it’s more of a “when”. We are an aging nation; we have more people likely to become injured through extreme sports. War is still raging somewhere in the world; some people have social media addictions which means they do silly things for “likes” without considering any negative consequences or repercussions.

I realise in writing this, I am still in the Guildhall, we haven’t ventured outside the building yet. Cllr Ross is already feeling the strain at trying to maintain the speed he started off with. With all fairness, no one has tried to “help” him and nothing has been that challenging, yet! other than a pesky carpet so far!

A man in a manual wheelchair leaving a dark building into a bright street beyond

Travelling outside the comfort and safety of the Guildhall will be a different experience and quite rightly needs its own blog post! Expect road works, uneven surfaces, more toilets and an unexpected journey into Queens gardens.