Plymouth City Council seeks feedback on home adaptations grants
Plymouth City Council is asking people for their opinions on its independent living assistance policy.Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are provided by the government to support people with disabilities to adapt their homes.The council said it had helped support over 500 home adaptations in the last three years and in 2024, Plymouth was granted £3m to help deliver disability adaptions in the city.The council said the consultation would help shape its policy and delivery methods.
It added that the funding helped people with disabilities "live safely and independently at home".
'Life-changing'
Plymouth resident Teresa said a recently-installed ramp had made a massive difference to her life.She said: "I struggle to get up and down stairs so to have a ramp for me has been pretty life-changing."Up until they were put in I couldn't actually access the back of the property at all very well."It's really quite freeing and being able to support myself with the rails means although I go very slowly, I can still do it on my own."Councillor Chris Penberthy said the DFGs made "a huge difference to people's lives".He said: "The consultation is imperative to shaping our independent living assistance policy."It is important to hear from residents like Teresa who have had adaptations made in their home to support their life, and how this has made a difference for her, to help shape our services for the future."The consultation will close on Friday 14 March.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
30-05-2025
- BBC News
Plymouth expansion plans up for discussion
Plans for the expansion of Plymouth into a large part of the South Hams will be shared with the public at a series of City Council wants to increase its population by taking over the running of 13 parishes with about 30,000 move is part of a reorganisation of local government taking place across the country with district and county councils set to be abolished and unitary authorities - such as Plymouth and Torbay - delivering all council services. Plymouth currently has a population of about 265,000, but the government has indicated all unitary authorities in the future should have a minimum population of about 300,000. Devon County Council and all of the district councils are expected to go as part of the plans and a number of proposals have been put forward for what should replace City Council is holding 13 sessions - one in each parish - and said it wants to hear about "challenges and opportunities".Council leader Tudor Evans said he had already heard "loud and clear" about the importance of local identity, but said the reorganisation was about "service provision" such as bin collections, children's social care services and fixing will be held from 9 June to 10 July and more information about attending any of the events is available decisions on the reorganisation of local government will be made by the government.
The Sun
20-05-2025
- The Sun
Massive £4MILLION upgrade to ‘UK's Central Park' is disgusting – it's pile of MUD eyesore & council taking us for fools
A MASSIVE £4million upgrade to Central Park has been slammed as 'disgusting' — with locals fuming it's become a fenced-off mud heap and a total eyesore. In Plymouth, Devon, frustrated residents living near Central Park have hit out after work on the delayed ponds and play areas came to a halt again. 5 5 Locals say the site has been left looking like a 'building site' and a 'moonscape', with mounds of dirt, broken fencing and abandoned materials strewn about. Plymouth City Council has confirmed it parted ways with the original contractor after work failed to restart as promised last month. Legal action is now underway and a new firm is expected to take over in early June. The stalled project, aimed at transforming the area into a wildlife haven with new ponds and drainage features, has already been plagued by delays, budget hikes and poor weather since its launch in late 2022. Ray O'Dell, who lives close to the park, said: 'As a local resident I am disgusted about yet another delay on this project, despite numerous promises made by those leading the project. "If we see this fully completed in 2026 I will be amazed, based on the slow progress to date.' Amanda Pannell, who started a 3,000-signature petition over the mess, said: 'It appears to be impossible to hold the council to account for their failure to communicate and deliver on the ponds project. "It's exhausting.' She added: 'Council officers and elected members will promote the success of the South Pond… but the North Pond, Barn Park fields and Reservoir Field… are still fenced off and not usable for visitors. "These areas are a mess and are still under building site regulations, over three years on.' Locals say the chaos has turned their once-proud park into a no-go zone. Vast areas used for football, dog walking and family outings are now blocked off. Much of the fencing is falling apart, and debris has been spotted in the ponds. 'It's like a war zone,' said one mum walking through the park with her toddler. 'You can't take your kids here anymore. They just stare at mud and broken fences.' The council has admitted its failings. A spokesperson said: 'We told residents that work would begin by the end of April in good faith… It didn't happen and so we've decided to part ways with the contractor. Legal discussions are ongoing.' They added: 'It is incredibly frustrating, given that the weather is now dry and bright. We should be making progress, but we're not.' The delay comes despite more money being pumped into the project last month. 5 5 An extra £1million was added to the budget, including £237,000 pulled from day-to-day council spending, and £500,000 from road safety improvements. That's on top of the £3million already allocated to phase three of the council's £9million grand plan to transform Central Park. The project was meant to deliver a network of ponds, paths, and green spaces to improve biodiversity and reduce flooding. But nearly two years on, many areas are still off-limits. A new contractor is expected to begin work next month, and the council says it still hopes to finish earthworks by the end of summer. If that happens, landscaping could finally begin in the autumn. In the meantime, anger is growing. Another petition has now surfaced online — this one from a group calling themselves 'The Janners', who are demanding that the council 'stop buggering up' Central Park and scrap plans to sell the historic Pounds House. Their blunt message reads: 'Please stop making terrible decisions regarding the management of Central Park… Don't sell any of the park. Not even to Argyle. It's not yours — it's ours.' It goes on: 'Please reconsider any plans to make any more ugly ponds without talking to someone who is good at their job. "Please stop dumping vast amounts of earth on areas of the park currently and previously used by the public.' Locals who visit the park daily say nothing has changed for months. 'It's been abandoned,' said Ray O'Dell. 'I've not seen any work done here in six months.' Another resident, Philip Bickle from nearby Mutley, said: 'It's a moonscape. I come here every morning and people are fed up with it not being finished. It's incredibly protracted.' Terry Hart from Peverell said: 'I love the idea of what they are doing, the wildlife is coming back. But it's taking far too long.' And Yolanda Brown, from Beacon Park, added: 'People are really fed up but don't know what to do about it. "We've even talked about having a march. It really does need to be finished.' With parts of the park still under building site rules, locals are left wondering how long it will be before they get their green space back — and whether the council can be trusted to deliver on its promises. As one visitor put it bluntly: 'We're not against improving the park. But they've left it a mess and just walked away.'
BBC News
13-05-2025
- BBC News
Council plea for more foster carers in Plymouth
Plymouth City Council is urgently appealing for more foster carers to take in children in said there were 534 children living in care Plymouth, but there were only 119 fostering households registered with the council, it Jemima Laing, cabinet member for Children's Social Care, said fostering was a "fantastic opportunity" and carers "could make a huge difference to a child's life"."If fostering is something you're at all interested in, I would really encourage you to reach out to our fantastic team to ask any questions or visit our website to find out more about what's involved," she said. To be considered, the council said applicants must be over the age of 21, have a spare room and be genuinely invested in supporting the wellbeing of children and young could also be entitled to financial allowances of between £350 and £779 per child, per week, depending on the child's age and individual payment includes a weekly allowance to cover the costs of caring for a child or young person as well as a reward foster carers are also eligible for a 50% council tax discount, or full exemption, said the council.
