A REVOLUTIONARY new guidance system for partially-sighted and blind people is part of the Lord Mayor of Leeds' Key to the City Appeal.

The new Lord Mayor, Otley resident Councillor Graham Kirkland, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind, are working in partnership with the aim of bringing a minimum of 26 'intelligent beacons' to Leeds.

The beacons, which cost £2,500 each, are triggered when someone carrying a smart card comes within a certain range.

Through the card, an audio message is relayed to the user giving them information specially recorded for people with sight difficulties.

Leeds City centre is set to become a more user-friendly environment for the blind or partially-sighted, but Coun Kirkland is also optimistic about the possibility of placing an intelligent beacon in Otley.

He said: "These are totally self-contained units. As to where to put it, the obvious place is the Jubilee Clock, but the Civic Centre might be another place.

"Leeds is the first city in the country that has got this system, the only other place that has it is Golders Green in London.

"We are looking for a major public utility to either buy it or put it in their premises. We will be looking at Leeds City Station for a starter."

Coun Kirkland added that the new system had potential for other applications and in the future could prove useful for people with other disabilities.

He said: "It could be used to activate a message in a petrol station for someone to come out and fill the car up for a disabled person."

Steve Rowley fundraiser for the RNIB, was also enthusiastic about people from Otley and the surrounding area becoming involved in the appeal.

He said: "Any people in the Otley area who have sight problems, we would actively encourage to get involved with the appeal.

"We would welcome their ideas and they should give us a call at the Headingley office. We would encourage people with sight problems and their families to get involved."

Peter Barker, manager of the RNIB Joint Mobility Unit said that there were two elements to the Key to the City Appeal.

He said: "We are putting an access officer into the city whose role will be to give advice on how to improve buildings and street environments.

"The advice will be aimed at local groups on how things can be improved and lobbying other people to improve access to their buildings."

He added that the intelligent beacon system was currently being prepared with the help of a group of partially-sighted people.

He said: "We are setting up a small group of people, a representative group, to find where they have the most difficulty. We will tell them how to use it and they will tell us where it is best used.

"For example, at the entrance to a building. It will say 'welcome to Leeds City Council, the housing department is on the right-hand side.'

"If you are blind, you can't look at signs, you have got to ask somebody. In Leeds there is probably potential for a few hundred but 26 is the number at this stage we think we can afford to put in to get the system going."

Guide dogs for the blind are undoubtedly useful, but are surprisingly small in number to the proportion of people with sight difficulties.

Mr Barker said: "A dog will take you to the building that it is used to, but if you go somewhere that you have never been before, that is more difficult.

"There are only 4,500 guide dogs in the country anyway, whereas in Leeds alone there are 15,000 blind or partially sighted people."

l THE RNIB fundraising office in Headingley can be contacted on (0113) 274 0222.

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