Blind people 'in danger' from £30m kerb removal scheme

BLIND people and the elderly are being put at risk by a council removing pavement kerbs, it was claimed today.

Kensington and Chelsea has merged the pavements and road outside Sloane Square station and has similar plans for Exhibition Road in South Kensington.

The "shared space" schemes are supposed to give cyclists and pedestrians more room and encourage drivers to go slower.

However, residents and disabled groups including Guide Dogs for the Blind Association have launched a campaign to reverse the changes.

Leading the group Gordon Taylor said: "With no tactile paving blind, partially-sighted people and other disabled people are placed in jeopardy.

"If people can't tell where the road begins and the pavement ends, how can they feel safe?"

About £300,000 was spent repaving the Holbein Place junction in Sloane Square and the Exhibition Road scheme will cost £30million. A spokesman for the council said the scheme was "suitable for visually impaired pedestrians".