By Susan Dorsett, leaf for Knightwood/Valley Park Campaigners.
Written in response to Hampshire County Council rejecting petition and letters hand delivered by disabled bus pass holders in March 2025.
This is another devastating, frustrating blow to our disabled residents, not just within Knightwood/Valley Park, but throughout our beautiful, glorious County of Hampshire.
This comes on top of the existing and forthcoming bus service and community transport cuts here, leaving disabled and older Knightwood residents, in particular, isolated and cut off from the basic everyday facilities of life: medical care, employment, volunteering, and socialization, to name just a few, and, of course, the Government’s devastating, frightening announcement it intends to reduce PIP eligibility and welfare support from thousands of genuinely disabled people.
Each of these measures are short-term gains, that will place even greater restrictions on disabled residents preventing employment and contributions to our communities, with the longer-term consequences being a greater and more rapid deterioration in health, mobility, and wellbeing resulting in an even greater demand from public services and budgets moving ahead. This will take decades to rectify if steps are not taken now.
As a result of this multi-pronged onslaught on some of the most vulnerable in our society we are living in a growing climate of fear, panic, and frustration. We feel misunderstood and rejected by the very official bodies whom we fund through taxes and we depend on to help enable us to be the best we can be within our frustrating permanent physical limitations. We want and deserve to be able to lead independent, joyful, worthwhile lives without restrictions, the same as able bodied residents.
What makes it even worse is that HCC revealed their decision to the media ahead of replying to the campaign leaders and the individual disabled residents who made such supreme efforts to turn out (some twice) in spite of their wide-ranging life changing disabilities to talk with Councillors and more recently to hand over their personal testimony letters outside the Council premises in Winchester.
In fact, (as of 29/3/2025) I have still not received any acknowledgement or reply to my own heartfelt letter that took me days to prepare and to type given my own hidden physical disabilities.
In my own case, due to the bus cuts made last summer, I could not access any transport at all to travel to Winchester. It was the kindness of two friends, one being a fellow campaigner, neither of whom live near me, who transported me in their cars. I am very grateful for their wonderful support.
However, this letter isn’t about me. It is about our communities, and disabled people being given the same opportunities in life as able bodied. About us being empowered to get out and about, to have choices, and to bring back some joy and companionship. To feel a valued and respected member of society who can travel as and when we want to by public transport.
All this comes at a pivotal moment nationally where more and more County and Borough Councils are listening to the needs of their residents and introducing 24/7 disabled bus passes, alongside other concessionary travel improvements and even some better bus services to connect rural and fringe urban areas with our towns and cities.
We need HCC to stop blaming their financial shortfall for the cuts and their inaction.
We appeal to all local councillors and to all politicians regardless of party, to work alongside our campaigners, communities, and the bus companies, to find and implement workable solutions across Hampshire.
In my opinion, disabled bus passes need to be enshrined in law and available for use 24/7 throughout the UK, thereby ending the current post code lottery. In addition, some disabled passengers do need a chaperone.
If you still have any doubts after reading this please do read and re-read our individual testimonys and try to put yourselves in our shoes. How would you manage if you had mobility problems, pain and fatigue, 24/7 for example, lived somewhere that becomes cut-off like Knightwood, were restricted in when you could use your bus pass, could not work for a living, and you were unable to drive or to walk any distance without severe symptoms or placing yourself at risk of slips, trips falls and blackouts?
You could become that person suddenly and unexpectedly… Your world and everything that you take for granted might shrink in the blink of an eye.
Please help to improve the future for all disabled residents within Hampshire and beyond starting now.
- In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton