Wyre wins award for mobility buggy

9:35pm Saturday 26th April 2008

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An initiative giving disabled people freedom to roam Wyre's countryside has received an award for equality.

An investment in the Tramper, an all-terrain electric buggy that's tough enough to cope with rough ground, mud, grass and the wildest of locations, people with mobility problems don't have to miss out on much of the borough's stunning scenery simply because it was inaccessible.

Having made the Tramper free to hire throughout the countryside areas, Wyre Borough Council and partners have seen this particular project become a huge success.

Now that success has been rewarded via the North West Employers' Awards.

Judges were told that by combining the Tramper with special risk-assessed Tramper Trails at Wyre Estuary Country Park, Scorton and Bowland had given disabled people the chance to experience tops of hills and more challenging countryside alongside friends and family.

Because the routes do not include stiles or very steep gradients, they are also ideal for people with walking difficulties and pushchairs.

The Recognising Diversity award is made to the local authority which demonstrates good practice of a project that promotes equality of opportunity.

Alison Boden, Coast and Countryside Manager for Wyre Borough Council, said: "We're delighted that our efforts to make the countryside accessible to all has been rewarded like this.

"Our countryside areas had catered for people in wheelchairs as much as possible but it was clear that the long distance to view points and areas of interest was still a barrier to some disabled people.

"The Tramper goes that bit further by enabling people who have difficulty walking to go places they may not have have thought they would ever get to again, to experience the countryside, woodlands and lakesides and to accompany their friends and family when out walking."