I AM writing in response to the letter from Martin Thomas (July 16) in which he clearly outlines the access problems faced by disabled people.

Mr Thomas describes access across the borough as "good to downright poor", and asks when equality of access will become reality of access for disabled people.

The short answer to that question ought to be October 1, 2004 when all physical barriers should be removed to give disabled people equal access to goods, facilities and services under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

With effect from that date, disabled people will be able to pursue any acts of discrimination or unequal treatment through the courts, probably supported by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).

Service providers have had nine years in which to make their services accessible to disabled people. There cannot be many excuses for failure.

From October 1, Mr Thomas and any other disabled person who feels that access to a service is unreasonably difficult should first raise the issue directly with the service provider. Any subsequent DRC involvement may result in prosecution. The Government has set a maximum penalty of £50,000.

Mr Thomas refers to the inaccessibility of the Parsons Lane building in Bury in particular. Bury and District Disabled Advisory Council (BADDAC) have carried out disabled access audits on most Bury Metro buildings, and are now surveying social services buildings, including the one in Parsons Lane.

It would not be proper to comment now but, in support of Bury Council, it must be said that they have been exceptional in dealing with disabled access matters throughout Bury.

As a measure of their commitment to disabled access, 40 staff attended a two-day meeting, run by BADDAC, where they learned first-hand from disabled people the types of access problems they faced. BADDAC are satisfied that Bury Council are at the forefront of efforts to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

The council have created a forum where disabled people, through BADDAC, can comment about current access issues, and can review future developments.

BADDAC are constantly looking for volunteers to attend these planning meetings. If you have a disability, or you have experience of disability, your input will make a difference. Meetings are every six weeks in Bury, and a one-day training course is available. Call Val Collinge on 0161 253 6901.

Hopefully, over time, the kind of inaccessibility Martin and others currently experience should be a thing of the past.

RON SHAMBLEY