Wynner's Blog – Ross Wynne on Anything and Everything…

Quite an unusual post for me considering there’s no particular news story to discuss.

I’ve recently had a run in with an apartment block that is planned to over look our garden. The fact a 17 meter high structure (relative to the road next to it) is being proposed just smacks of greed and opportunism. 17 meters… That’s about 3 standard semi-detached homes or 12 VW Golf’s stacked on top of each other.

Crazy you would think considering that the neighbouring homes are only 6 meters in height. Not so though… This is a legitimate attempt by the developers to pack as many people into as small a space as possible so as to make the profits skyrocket.

My personal opinion is that plans such as these should be summarily dismissed when they are obviously absurd and greedy.

So my 10 step plan for fairer and progressive planning laws are:

1. Compulsory scale sketches of the streetscape where a building is planned.

- without a proper sense of how the development will fit in around surrounding properties and lands a proper notion of how the streetscape will look cannot be achieved.

2. All adjoining properties are to receive hand delivered copies of planning application, plans & sketches.

- it should not be the responsibility of a neighbour to have to chase down plans.

3. All relevant documentation for each planning application to be provided for free online.

- in the era of e-Government we should expect free and easy access to public records.

4. Electronic submission of objections.

- someone answer me why I can’t at present send in a pdf’d word doc with an online credit card payment?

5. A longer period between planning application and decision.

- Lets say you go on holidays for two weeks and lets say 5 days either side of the holiday you’re wrapped up in holiday stuff. That’s almost a whole month chalked up where you mightn’t know of your neighbours plans. I would propose 8 weeks from submission to decision instead of the current 5 weeks..

6. Environmental impact studies for all properties.

- in an era that is concerned by global warming and pollution should we not also examine how the local environment will be effected by commissioning hydrological reports, soil analysis, etc.

7. Immediate planning refusal if the plans are misleading in anyway.

- If a plan says there’s a retaining wall and it’s actually a loosely put together stone wall then that misleading comment and should void the application.

8. No gated communities.

- These developments do not contribute to the local community and only exacerbate the crumbing of a society were we no longer know our neighbours names.

9. Ban the use of fibreglass.

- This is simply a pet hate since I have had to deal with a fair amount of this crud. It truly is dangerous and should be banned.

10. Compulsory solar panels on new developments.

- Another wishful thought… Embrace new technology and actually start turning the tide on climate change.

What do you think?

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After the misery of the tokenism I wrote about yesterday and the failures of RTE comes the delightful news that Google has once again come up with a valuable public service.

Fresh from Google Labs is a new accessible search engine that when searched will return websites that are more likely to be usable to screen readers than flash sites or heavily loaded image sites. This for me is a nice simple solution to the problem of making the Internet a resource for everyone (in the English speaking world at least). What is of interest is how this development came about. In August 2005 Google hired a certain Mr. T.V. Raman who was one of the first in Google with a strong knowledge of web accessibility. Now after developing this variant of the worlds most popular search engine it seems Google is embracing this area of the web and is hiring web developers with knowledge of W3C accessibility standards.

For me this is a major development since I was beginning to lose hope for an equal web. I say this because recently I was fortunate enough to be talking to Microsoft in the capacity as an Undergraduate representative. They were looking at selling their warez to students using a web interface. The offers they were pushing were excellent so I’m not knocking them on that BUT there was a slight downside to the meeting. As I often do I asked about what grade accessibility the site was rated at in terms of the internet standards set by W3C. A look of pure confusion and bafflement occurred next by the MS representative. I explained that Trinity has it’s own policy on all websites being rated at least to the AA standard. Again, what was this “AA standard” I was talking about, what had batteries got to do with a website. The next bit was the most humourous though, I was handed a business card and told to contact Microsoft and tell them how to make their website accessible. Ah… ha… Right-e-o then… Major multi-billion dollar global company was uneducated in Internet standards and were offering me a job in fixing their websites…

…and on that bomb-shell I’ll leave you, the reader, to digest that gem!

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…and so election year seems to have started in earnest… Our wonderful Irish Government has seen fit to promote how it has now exceeded its target of a 3% in employing people with disabilities in the public sector. Indeed the 7% they quote is quite impressive after years and decades of discrimination and lost opportunities. Well done FF & PDs…

BUT…

According to the Irish Examiner, Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance, called on the private sector to match such an impressive employment quota. For me this is the equivalent to running down the length of a football pitch to score the best goal of all time… except… you just put it past your own keeper… Fool…

When anyone with a disability applies for and gets a job you would like to think it’s because they are the right person for the right job. By confusing the issue with statistics we aren’t in reality reaching true equality in employment. We are in fact working towards a system of ‘positive discrimination’ which is one of my pet hates. Positive discrimination is nothing more than tokenism, a band-aid for social ills. True equality is were everyone has a fair chance to fulfil ambitions and careers.

What Brian should have announced was the government finally addressing the inequality in our education system by a windfall amount of money to increase access to education for people with disabilities. Oh I know… We have the HEA and the ESF fund. Sure that’ll do the job… Well err… No!

The problem certainly at third level is the total lack of considered investment and will to address the barriers to a full education for people with disabilities. Let me lay out the charges I hold over our Governments in relation to Trinity College Dublin.

1. Despite the efforts of a dedicated minority (namely those involved directly with the Student Disability Service) there is a fundamental lack of appreciation of the requirements (often without cost) of full integration of people with disabilities by the administration and staff. This is not an attack on the staff but more on the lack of information and training that is given to them as employees.
2. Systemic and prolonged issues with building design on campus and off. There is no physical access to a significant majority of buildings if you happen to be a wheelchair user. This is scandalous. There is minimal commitment to retrofitting existing buildings for access. Even if it’s a new building more often than not the Universal Design principles that have been allegedly been adopted are neglected on the finished building. This is usually the fault of either the moneymen or the contractors trying to finish on a job hastily.
3. A lack of social support. Of the 90+ societies and sports clubs in Trinity I ask how many have got specific policies on removing various barriers to inclusion? How many have been told of how by their governing funding body? And other than the cost of a sign language interpreter (which can be found for free on occasion) how many know that inclusion is only a matter of cost free logistics?
4. Barriers to the ‘fourth level’ of education. Within Trinity the number of students with disabilities that are post-graduate are astronomically low. Why? Is it because the main postgraduate reading room is inaccessible? Is it that the number of students with disabilities college wide is only a little over 2.5%?
5. Restrictive planning laws. If we did have the will and the money to make buildings accessible we are left with this final obstacle. The ultimate barrier if you will. ‘Listed Buildings’ and ‘Conservation Areas’ are the bane of my life. Some serious changes are needed to clarify these types of areas so they aren’t a convenient excuse to refrain for ones obligations to universal access. Also perhaps a ban for any listed building that is being used for public functions unless it has been made accessible. Food for thought at least.

Until we address education issues in Ireland we will never truly have the diverse and equal workforce that the Government demands in the private sector.

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Some of you may be aware of my involvement with disability issues over the years. I have seen many advances and a few backwards steps taken by people who we trust to do the right thing by involving people with disabilities into a world that puts so many barriers up. When there is a backward step we usually have the old reliable economic excuses for not making an investment in a building project or a service. Yet RTE are doing the unthinkable in cancelling a radio program called Audioscope aimed at the visually impaired simply on the basis of reconfiguring a schedule.

The insanity of this decision is unfathomable to me. The figures for the listenership is quite outstanding for the 15 minute program. Some 60,000 tune in to hear TCD’s own Bethan Collins present an informative and entertaining show.

60,000!

Think about it. There are some radio presenters that are nationally known but couldn’t hope to dream for such listening figures.

If you agree with me and Lexferenda please sign the petition at Save Audioscope.

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I must apologise for the lack of blogging in recent weeks. My wonderful holiday in Greece sailing had me in an unusual state… Totally cut off from Internet, email, news and life…. But it was so worth it… A real detox for the soul.

Anyway I’m back now with laptop in hand and a few comments to make on recent news events… So enjoy… 

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