People needing disabled shower facilities or other bathroom mobility aids are set to get funding help from a local authority.
Eden District Council in Cumbria is to offer grants to elderly residents in need to help them live more mobile lives, the News and Star reports. These can include various aids to mobility that, in addition to bathroom facilities, could include access ramps, specialist toilet facilities, stair lifts and property alterations to make them wheelchair accessible.
The idea behind the grants is to enable more old people to live as independently in their own homes as possible for as long as they can.
In a statement, Eden Council said: “Disabled facilities grants are means tested in certain circumstances depending on the extent of the work required.”
It added that this is being done to ensure that “help goes to the people in the greatest need”, which means that “the amount of grant you receive is decided after your own financial resources have been taken into account”.
The new measures may be invaluable for those who need modified bathroom and toilet facilities in order to be able to maintain their dignity and live comfortably in their own homes.
Eden is not the only local authority to offer such help, but it may be of particular importance in an area that is one of the most rural in England, covering parts of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.
All this means that housing supply is sparse and much sought after, not least in the national parks as it is known that homes in these areas carry a price premium. It also means that for anyone forced to move home, they may have to leave behind their local rural area and relocate many miles away to a town, such as Appleby or Penrith.
For these reasons, the grants will be welcomed by those who can go on living independent lives in one of England’s most scenic areas.
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9 November,2021
