A WHEELCHAIR user studying at Oxford University insists he is missing out on college traditions because of lack of disabled access.

Student James Lingfield, 19, studies at St Hilda’s College and as a wheelchair user has encountered access issues at a variety of university buildings.

The biggest issue Mr Lingfield has to deal with is access to Christ Church Meadow from Rose Lane.

Normally Christ Church college is accessible through a turnstile gate, however, this gate is not suitable for wheelchair users.

The alternative option is to enter by the main gate beneath Tom Tower, where wheelchair users can enter by the Porters’ Lodge – however that is a 20 minute detour over cobbles making it considerably inconvenient.

Although Mr Lingfield only needs to go to Christ Church a couple of times a term, he feels there are situations which make him feel like he is missing out on the life of the university. He said: “It’s a university tradition to go to Christ Church Meadow at the end of exams, so when I finished my exams, instead of going through the gate I had to take a detour.

It’s a 20 minute detour over cobbles and my wheelchair is quite small and needs a few pushes to get through.

On one occasion his friends lifted him over the gate, though he felt it was dangerous.

Christ Church is in the process of reviewing access issues at the college with a survey. James Lawrie, college treasurer, said: “We need a method that allows wheelchairs but not bicycles; we don’t want the meadow to become a racetrack.”

On another occasion James was unable to attend an introductory event at Trinity College because of lack of access. He said: “When I arrived, I was told the event was in a room which was down a flight of stairs.”

A Trinity spokesman said: “Trinity College is currently taking forward a major development that will improve accessibility to both our new and historic facilities, and this is an area of priority for the college going forward.

"Our new £30m building project that is currently in development will deliver a fully-accessible building with eight ensuite study bedrooms specifically equipped for students with mobility needs.

"In a separate project, we are in the process of identifying ways to make the communal areas of college more fully accessible. This is particularly challenging with some of the historic spaces in college, but both projects will be delivered within the next two years.”

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Mr Lingfield said he considered turning down his offer to come to Oxford because he knew he would encounter wheelchair access issues. However, he acknowledged the university did everything it could to help, especially within his own college St Hilda’s.

Oxford Mail:

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He said: “Staff cannot be faulted in their effort, but their hands are tied with the environment around them.

Oxford Mail:

"Potentially it’s a combination of there not being many students that are wheelchair users, so they don’t put provisions in place. But it's also because they find it difficult to put things in place.

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"I understand it’s tricky because it’s an old city.”

The University of Oxford commented on their approach to disabled access and said: “We are always looking to improve accessibility of university buildings, and we have set up an online access guide which lists the relevant information for each building, including accessibility of the entrance, whether there is blue badge parking nearby, whether there is a lift and whether there are wheelchair accessible toilets."

For more information on access at Oxford University buildings, go to accessguide.ox.ac.uk