The Accessibility Audit: How Street Clutter Became a Hazard for Hampstead's Blind and Disabled Residents

This investigative piece examines a less-visible dimension of public realm planning: accessibility for blind and disabled residents. The article centres on Red Szell, an adviser to the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum and author of The Blind Man of Hoy, who became the first blind man to climb the Old Man of Hoy sea stack. Szell's expertise informs a detailed analysis of how street clutter spreads "like Japanese knotweed" across Hampstead's pavements, with retail accoutrements, café tables and chairs spilling beyond marked areas, and A-boards creating particular hazards. The article notes that A-boards are banned in the City of London and that research shows they do not expand business for outlets that use them. It catalogues other obstacles: cyclists riding on pavements, Lime bikes and scooters, overgrown hedges, and poorly maintained paving stones.