“I COME in here because it’s a lifeline – in fact it’s utterly brilliant.”
That’s the verdict of Redditch Shopmobility user Michael Craig as the service celebrates its 30th anniversary.
And with hundreds of users every single week, the Winyates resident is not alone.
“We’ve got quite a number of people from Redditch who use us but also a large number travel here from outside the area too,” said Judith Willis, head of the borough council’s community services.
Shopmobility is a joint venture between the Kingfisher Shopping Centre and the local authority and Judith said the introduction of charges for the service from April 1 has failed to dent people’s enthusiasm for Shopmobility.
“People come here because they say they like it so much and with the charging they still think it’s good value,” she said.
The unit is based on the ground floor of car park 3 and there’s little doubt that the service, led there by Julie Dipple, creates a welcoming family atmosphere for users and their families.
“People can just turn up but usually they book in advance,” said Julie.
“If they’re new we give them some training as part of the regulations just to make sure they can use the scooter and then off they go.”
She leads a tight knit team of of seven part time staff and two volunteers managing a fleet that includes 37 normal scooters, six big scooters, 16 power chairs and 25 wheelchairs.
When it started in 1987 Redditch’s Shopmobility service was the first of its kind in the West Midlands and only the fourth in the country.
Since then it has hosted a meeting for those interested in forming a ‘National Federation of Shopmobility schemes’, which is still in existence, and has hosted fact finding missions from country’s as far flung and Japan and Canada.
Today it is one of more than 150 Shopmobility schemes in the UK.
