Tiaho Trust has been approached by a number of individuals and organisations from the Whangarei community concerned about ongoing issues around access into the Aquatic Centre and general accessibility once inside this public facility.
“Problems start when you first arrive at the centre with only four mobility car parks available” says Charm Kernot from the Northland Stroke Foundation. Some of her members have mobility parking permits but regularly have to park up to five rows away from the start of the 60 metre trek to the front door, which means that a lot of them are tired even before they start their session at the pool.
Denise Goddard, who brings her father Terry to the Northland Stroke Foundation hydrotherapy class, says that they have got to get to the pool early to get a mobility parking space so that he doesn’t have to walk further than necessary. 
Dawn Lennon, Lyn Pullin and caregiver Pamela Jones say that the main issue for them is the long trek to the front door, especially on wet days, its hard going trying to use a walker whilst holding an umbrella says Dawn.
As the walkway is uncovered and there is no covered drop of point, many vulnerable people are finding themselves in our often-inclement weather; wet and cold before they get in the pool and often on their way out, not a very healthy situation.
John Berger, who along with two caregivers brings his son Brett twice a week to the pool for exercise, says that vehicle access to the pool, especially in wet weather, is a real issue for them.
When you are assisting a person who uses a wheelchair it takes that much longer to help them get out of the car and into their wheelchair, get all your gear together, get them to the front door, then get back to your car to try and find a park as there are no mobility parks left, then make it back to the front door again.
Charm says that the number of people attending the Northland Stroke Foundation hydrotherapy classes has decreased, especially on rainy days, due to these issues.
Once you have made it inside the centre you have difficulty getting into the hydrotherapy area, as the doors are large and heavy. Charm says that she has some difficulty opening them so people using walking frames or who have limited strength, balance and mobility find it difficult to access this area.
Sue Baker from Arthritis NZ agrees that there are a number of issues inside the centre which need addressing including the number of wheelchair accessible changing rooms. There is only one, and often there can be six people waiting to use it.
Another major issue inside the centre is the slippery floors. Sue says that one of their clients had a serious fall due to the slippery floor requiring a trip to hospital in an ambulance and medical attention, she has not returned to date.
Sue Baker says “It’s an excellent facility however it’s a shame that access requirements for disabled people were not taken into account in the planning stages creating a barrier to potential and existing users”. 
It’s a shame that Sport Northland did not take note of the Barrier Free audit that they requested and was carried out in November 2005 which highlighted a number of these access issues with a priority being the walkway.
A number of organisations were approached to give their support for the hydrotherapy pool but once given; no effort was made to ensure that the people needing these facilities would be able to access them.
Accessibility at the centre has been an issue for some time now. It was agreed upon over a year ago in March 2007, that parking needed to be made available closer to the entrance and a plan was put in place.
The Whangarei District Council however no longer has the budget to undertake the works to fix these preventable and identified issues.
An article in the Leader dated 8th April stated that to make rates more affordable, Capital Works Projects including the accessible walkway and car park at the centre have been deferred or delayed.
This leaves the disabled community having to fight for what should have been provided originally by law, accessible access into a public facility.
We believe that understanding why Sport Northland ignored their own Barrier Free Audit will help to ensure that these mistakes are not made again to the five major upcoming projects in Whangarei including:
- The Okara Park Event Centre
- The Hundertwasser Art Centre.
Let’s hope the Whangarei District Council Disability Advisor and the DSRG (Disability Sector Reference Group) are consulted with in the early planning stages of these projects to ensure compliance is met in regard to accessibility.
A petition is available for the general public to sign aimed at gaining evidence of the useability of the Aquatic Centre relating mainly to the buildings entrance from the car park and the slipperiness of some of the surfaces around the pools.
We are asking for people/organisations to sign the petition and or write a supporting letter and send to Tiaho Trust. You can also make a comment at the bottom of this article. We will be presenting these documents to the next DSRG meeting and Sport Northland and will also make submission to the Whangarei District Council Draft Annual Plan 2008/2009 by 9th May. The more people that make a submission to council about this issue the better, you can go on-line to make your submission or you can print it out and send to them.
Petitions are available from Northland Stroke Foundation, Arthritis NZ Northland and Tiaho Trust.
Please help us make this excellent facility accessible to all Northlanders!
Get your petitions, support letters or make a comment at the bottom of this article by the 1st May