I'd still go back and talk to your ot. If he won't agree that off road parking in necessary, then surely he would need to provide a suitable covered waiting area for your children during inclement weather?

Another point is how easy is it for you for you to park near to your home? Is a disabled bay required to make sure you can park close enough to your home to leave a child at the door while you get the other one out of the car? My local councils policy is that having a driveway makes you ineligible for a disabled bay. This would put two different council depts in direct opposition to each other, and a friendly local councillor may be able to persuade them that the best solution would be to extend your drive.

You always have the option of doing the work yourself depending on your circumstances. For a gravel drive dumpy bags of hardcore and gravel are £40 each on ebay delivered. You'd have to dig out 6 inches or so of soil, use a whacker plate to compact the soil, put down the hardcore, whacker plate again, then put down a weed proof membrane and cover with gravel. You'd have to park your car half on the gravel to leave a smooth material to push the wheelchair on. Using friends and family to help with labour you could do the work in a weekend with materials costing just over £100 for a single car drive or @£150 for a 2 car drive.

Paul

(11-22-2011 12:09 PM)Gadget Wrote:  I'd still go back and talk to your ot. If he won't agree that off road parking in necessary, then surely he would need to provide a suitable covered waiting area for your children during inclement weather?

Im not sure they would consider the covered waiting area as they may feel there is not an additional health need which warrants this

(11-23-2011 08:23 AM)Daniel Wrote:  Im not sure they would consider the covered waiting area as they may feel there is not an additional health need which warrants this

You may be right here but if you don't ask then you don't get! And if they agree that it is necessary then its less of a cost increase to get them to agree to widening the drive instead of fitting the covered waiting area! In my previous job I always found that dealing with authorities was more like a game of chess than a simple yes or no according to the rules.

For my children the OT has stated that one of the requirements for a new home is a safe area to get the children in and out of that car including cover for inclement weather. My twins both have chronic lung disease of prematurity, are oxygen dependant, and my son has a tracheostomy. Obviously everyone's situation is different in how bad weather could effect their children. I have a letter from my consultant stating they require the pneumovax II vaccine when they turn 2, I would imagine that any other person who has had the same would have a strong argument to say they require protection from inclement weather for health reasons