"Builders plan to make a park my wheelchair-bound daughter can't use"

James Henderson’s two-year-old daughter, Beatrix, was born with spina bifida, meaning she needs a wheelchair to move around.

James, his partner and their children moved onto the Millstone Park development in Swallownest, Rotherham, after extensive discussions with housebuilders, Bellway Homes, about their needs - including a downstairs bedroom for Beatrix.

The family “fell in love” with their new home, but after moving in, James noticed what he felt was a significant flaw in development plans.

A play park, one of the last things to be built on the site, is due to be constructed with no wheelchair-accessible equipment.

James said he was heartbroken to learn of the plans and claims he went to Bellway Homes to raise the issue, but received no response.

“My daughter has no use in her legs,” James said.

Explaining why the family moved to the new housing development, he said: “We wanted to make our home more accessible for her, but to renovate our previous home would have been too expensive.”

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The approved play park plans, which have been seen by The Star, include swings, springers and saucers - none of which would be accessible for a child in a wheelchair.

James is urging Bellway Homes to change and resubmit their plans to the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, with his own suggestions for just some of the changes they could make.

“My three boys would be able to use it and she would just have to sit there and watch them play,” he said.

“It’s hard to put into words.”

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He has suggested replacing one of the basket-like swing seats with an expression swing, which allows parents and children to ride the swing together, an swapping the original springer and saucer with wheelchair-accessible springers and roundabouts.

These adjustments would mean young Beatrix would be able to use the park, alongside her older brothers, as she gets older.

A spokesperson for Bellway Homes said: “Bellway is looking at how improvements can be made to accommodate the accessibility changes required to the play area, but due to the advanced nature of the development, which has recently sold out, this may not be possible, but we are working with key stakeholders to explore further.”

The Hendersons’ new home on Milestone Way is part of a 99 home development in Swallownest, which Bellway said it was “delivering in line with the planning permissions approved by the Local Authority”.

The spokesperson added: “As part of this, Bellway has invested over £650k in the community, including £331k on local infrastructure; £233k on education, close to £50k on sustainable transport, £34k on tree maintenance; the provision of 17 affordable homes; and the building of the play area on site.” The housebuilder recently announced all 99 homes had been sold out less than two years since the first bricks were laid.

What is Spina Bifida?

According to the NHS website, spina bifida is when “a baby's spine and spinal cord does not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine”.

There several different types of spina bifida which can range in severity and rarity.

Shine, a charity providing help and support to those affected by spina bifida, states that in the most common type, called spina bifida occulta, one or more of the vertebrae (spinal bones) are not closed completely at the back Spina bifida occulta affects an estimated 8-15 per cent of adults and it is even more common in children as the vertebrae close later in some children than others.

You can find more information about Shine and other types of spina bifida on the charity’s website.