Dear Editor,

I am very concerned that disabled access seems to have been neglected in regards to the construction of a new outdoor terrace at the Royal Hotel.

Wheelchair or mobility scooter access now appears to be impossible.

Previously a wheelchair or scooter could come through the gate from the Prospect, into the Royal Hotel grounds and travel directly onto the terrace by travelling over the grass or gravel path. Now a railing has been erected to block this access,

There are steps to negotiate to get up to the level of the door to the hotel. Once these steps have been ascended there is a ramp descending to the terrace, but a wheelchair or scooter would be unable to traverse these steps, so the ramp seems quite useless.

The work is not quite finished, but unless I am mistaken, I can’t see where a disabled access could be.

If the situation is as it seems to me, this is a very retrograde move, at a time when disabled access is supposed to be taken very seriously and is backed up by law.

This would be a serious oversite that would also affect buggy and pram users.

Rod Vass

Ross-on-Wye

Editor’s note: A spokesperson for the Royal Hotel said: “We endeavour to make the site as accessible as possible to our guests, but there are some constraints with it being a listed building.

“The route to the patio previously used by the guest was never a fully accessible route and due to changes in ground levels we have had to build a small retaining wall to make this area safer for all.

“As before, the patio is accessible to all of our guests from the hotel’s car park and through the hotel via an existing ramp. Our designer is meeting with the Planner and Conservation Officer later this week and will discuss access from the ‘secret garden’ with them at this time.”