Tuesday 2 October 2007

Bureaucracy

I have applied for a DFG recently (Thats a Disabled Facilities Grant ) for my property to be adapted and have been successful in part anyway.



That is to say that my property which is being altered to include a wet room and driveway which at the moment is particularly unsafe, has been approved . However, accessibility to my garden is not.
I have been informed that this is a Grey Area. My response maybe is just too simplistic in that accessibility to my garden affects my general wellbeing and interaction and social activity with my family and friends etc. I wasnt asking for a Garden Makeover just accessibility which amounted to approx £2k. Is this asking too much from a beaurecratic council. Me thinks not.
Anyway I am asking for a formal response from the local authority and a named contact for appeal. I am paraplegic 3yrs now through an infection and not trauma which I'm mentioning because its had a massive financial impact on our family in so much as I am not in a position to claim damages etc. and receive a financial award, but the bills still seem to arrive and they still have to be paid.
However, if we were in a better financial position I might have just said sod it and sorted it out myself. I feel aggrieved not just for me but for others who might not challenge such decsions but then again I have been down this road before.

10 October, 2007

This is the formal response I received from the Council;

Dear Mr Nash, Re: DFG application for access to garden I am sorry that we are unable to approve DFG funding for works enabling access to your rear garden. This access is a grey area under the current legislation and requires interpretation to arrive at our current policy, this being that we will provide primary access to the property. We will only provide secondary access, i.e to the garden, where a proven need has been established. This is to ensure a fair and equitable service is maintained for all applicants. I appreciate it would be favourable to enable you to spend time in the garden with your family and we are hoping such an amendment will be included in the forthcoming review of DFG legislation. I understand that Sabina Page has contacted you regarding the possibility of visiting with Marian Tipler on the 19th October. I would urge you to accept this to explore the options open to you. I am concerned that the progress of the application is being slowed by this one point. There is still the opportunity to proceed with the application without access to the garden and to apply for this at a later date, an option I would encourage you to accept to avoid further delay. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Dickie
Housing Adaptations
Technical Team Leader

No comments: