A SWANSEA disabled rights group has challenged the council’s director of culture, leisure and tourism to spend a penny in Mumbles while dependent upon a wheelchair or crutches.

The move has come about following Swansea Access for Everyone’s frustration that new disabled toilets at Knab Rock — part of the visitor centre — will only be open during office hours and does not use a Radar key, which offers independent access to disabled people to around 7,000 locked public toilets around the country.

The group claims that anyone caught short outside of office hours will face a near half kilometre trek to an open toilet.

Swansea Access for Everyone (Safe) spokesman, Mark Newton, said the move would limit the occasions disabled people would be able to visit the area.

He said: “It would appear to be the council’s policy that you would like people to visit the Knab Rock area during office hours. Is this to be extended throughout the city and county of Swansea?

“The nearest public toilets to Knab Rock are at the Crazy Golf, some 747metres away, and Oystermouth Square, some 1,070 metres away.” In an open letter to the council’s director of culture, leisure and tourism he called on the officer to see the situation for himself.

He said: “I would like to invite you to try and get to these toilets using a manually powered wheelchair or on crutches to see how hard it is, preferably whilst you are desperate for the toilet.”

A Swansea Council spokesman said the council was keen to meet with the group to discuss their concerns but added that the toilet were open longer than normal office hours.

He added: “The toilets at Knab Rock will be open from 7.30am to 7.30pm throughout the summer months until the end of September to cover the times when the area’s at its most busy. In the winter, the toilets will be open from 8am until about 4pm.

“There are also some businesses very close to Knab Rock where disabled people can use toilets until slightly later in the evening throughout the year.

“We’ll contact Safe to discuss their concerns.”

Source: This Is South Wales

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