Council hosts successful meeting following online petition
August 8, 2016
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council welcomed the opportunity to host a meeting on Thursday 4th August with the Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, the Vice Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee, Councillor Alan Givan, Mrs Mearns and Council Officers in response to an online petition calling for additional services for those on the autistic spectrum at Lagan Valley LeisurePlex.
Speaking at the meeting on behalf of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, the Director of Leisure & Community Services, Mr Jim Rose explained that the Council aims to facilitate people from all backgrounds in using Lagan Valley LeisurePlex and it is the Council`s policy to endeavour to be fully inclusive.
As Lagan Valley LeisurePlex is one of the most popular leisure facilities in Northern Ireland, the Council has to ensure that it is possible to accommodate the request submitted through the Petition within a busy schedule, and without setting a wider precedent.
The Council is running a pilot scheme with the help of Autism NI during August to assess how the special sessions might work in practice and to identify any potential problems. The feedback from this arrangement will also help inform a way forward.
In response, Mrs Mearns explained that in raising the petition, whilst the initial focus was in regard to achieving appropriate public sessions for children with autism, it is her desire to work with the Council to achieve an acceptable outcome that would enable Lagan Valley LeisurePlex to accommodate the needs of people with a range of special needs and disabilities, including such conditions as Autism, ADHD, Tourette's, Fibromyalgia etc. Having in mind that Lagan Valley LeisurePlex is a very busy facility, Mrs Mearns proposed that the Council facilitate regular weekly or monthly sessions for an hour at a time during an off-peak period for people with a disability.
Mrs Mearns indicated that her preference would be for the Council to try and accommodate the sessions on a morning at weekends or at another time that would not upset bedtime routines or mean children being out late on school nights. She also put forward some practical suggestions as to how the Council could validate access entitlement for people with a disability who wished to avail of these special sessions.
Following Mrs Mearns proposal, Council Officers stated that they were happy to take this proposal forward to try and seek an outcome that was acceptable to all parties and in the interests of existing and potential customers with a disability. The Council now plan to consider the arrangements that would need to be put in place to enable 'Disability Friendly' sessions to be held on a regular basis at the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex. It was agreed that the maximum number of persons taking part in each session would initially be limited to 120 and this figure could be reviewed following consideration of customer feedback.
The Council will now examine the weekly programme and staffing arrangements at the LeisurePlex to work out the best time to accommodate the proposed 'Disability Friendly' sessions. Further consideration will also be given to finding the easiest and most practical way to validate entry entitlement for everyone wishing to take part in these special sessions.
It was agreed that a further meeting will be held as soon as the Council Officers are in a position to bring forward detailed proposed arrangements to accommodate the 'Disability Friendly' sessions at the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex. This will take account of the views expressed at this meeting as well as initial feedback from the Autism NI pilot scheme.