Despite losing a vital grant, Bradford Access Action is continuing its fight for improvements to buildings in the district. The charity is the latest to be highlighted by reporter Simon Ashberry in our search for Bradford's Best Community Project for the Disabled.

THE CAMPAIGN for better access for disabled people has come a long way over the past two decades.

But the volunteers of Bradford Access Action know there is still plenty more work to be done. And it's not just a question of ensuring that buildings are designed with ramps in mind - attitude towards disabled people can be equally important.

Brenda Hamilton, access worker for the charity, said: "We've talked a lot lately about attitude as well as physical access. If places have the attitude of 'We don't want your sort of people here' then that's something we want to tackle. On the other hand, some buildings may have physical problems but a welcoming attitude which is a plus point."

Bradford Access Action was founded in 1981 - the International Year of the Disabled - and is based at the Arts and Resource Centre in Chapel Street, Little Germany. It was supported by a £10,000 a year grant from Bradford Council but now has to manage without that after the voluntary grants system was reviewed.

The aim of the group was to encourage more accessibility for the elderly and people with pushchairs and prams as well as the disabled. Brenda, who is herself a wheelchair-user, said great strides had been made over the past 18 years, particularly the growing number of dropped kerbs and pedestrian crossings. But she added: "There is still a lot of room for improvement, especially with things like roadworks when they are perhaps digging up dropped kerbs and it causes problem for people in wheelchairs."

And Brenda said she was constantly amazed by the way that new buildings designed with accessibility in mind still presented problems to the disabled. "I've seen perfectly accessible buildings ruined because people have put a photocopier in a corridor so that people in wheelchairs can't get past," she said.

The charity produced its first access guide last year with the help of a £77,000 grant from the National Lotteries Charity Board. The book features more than 200 places around Bradford including public buildings, shops, post offices, shops, banks, theatres, leisure centres and restaurants, giving details of their accessibility.

Reaction to the guide, she says, has been "excellent" and free copies are still available from Bradford Access Action at the Arts and Resource Centre. It is also available on tape in English and Urdu.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.