Tel : +44 (0) Top Flat 61 Lansdowne Place HOVE East Sussex. BN3 1FL Date : 05/03/07

Transcription

1 / D:Gu VV\Q.()t lcj Tel : +44 (0) Top Flat 61 Lansdowne Place colinbbennett@palmeira.org.uk HOVE East Sussex. BN3 1FL Date : 05/03/07 (I' BRIGHTON COUNTY COURT: CLAIM NO. 7BN00116 BENNETT v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE OLD MARKET TRUST,~' ~'~.J' ~..{~ c. '",I.,;'..,:,1',"" Witness statement bv Colin Bruce Bennett of TODFlat. 61 Lansdowne Place. HOVE BN31FL 1. My name is Colin Bruce Bennett and I was born on 12 October I am a retired electrical engineer. I have a severe hearing impairment which necessitates my wearing a pair of powerful digital hearing aids. I have Usher Syndrome type 2 which is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with an associated hearing loss. I am a registered blind person. 2. My life is greatly enhanced by the provision of induction loops or infra-red systems in ~ public places such as lecture theatres and theatres. I campaign for these to be installed and to function in such venues. This is not only for my own benefit but for the wider deaf population, the majority of whom shy away from revealing themselves as having hearing problems. In former years I too was "ashamed" of my hearing problem and would often disguise it. In the days before induction loops or infra-red systems were installed, most meetings meant little to me. The invention of induction loops and infra-red systems is a tremendous boon for hearing impaired people Le. those who have some "residual" hearing. Sadly, they are of no use to people with no hearing. 3. For some years I have wanted to attend lectures etc. at the Old Market Arts Centre, Hove but I have in fact seldom attended such meetings because there is no functioning induction loop or infra-red system there as far as I can ascertain, although the management claim to have such a system. This is a shame particularly as the OMAC is an attractive venue near to me. 4. A few years ago I made an effort to get the management of OMAC to take their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) seriously. I challenged them to show me and to demonstrate to me the induction loop which they claimed to have at OMAC. They were not able to do this. Eventually they told me they had discovered, in a ~ cupboard, some neck loops apparently suitable for an infra-red system. The batteries inside were leaking and these neck loops had obviously not been used for some years. I extracted a promise from Mr Stephen Neiman that he would get a functioning infra-red system or induction loop installed. Nigel Freedman of The Argus took an interest in the matter and I was hopeful that things would improve. 5. In the last couple of years I have attended some lectures at OMAC but without the benefit of a functioning induction loop or infra-red system. One such was a lecture given by Robin Cook MP not long before his death. I spoke with people near me who had hearing aids and they also lamented the fact that they could not hear. 6. A talk by Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's Middle East editor was advertised for 20 November The flyer for this event (which I still have) makes no claim for an infra-red system or induction loop to be at the venue. The talk was mainly to launch his new book and I am very interested in this subject. Accordingly I purchased from City Books two tickets for myself and my companion. I gave notice via City Books that I would be attending so that I could be sure that if there were a functioning induction loop or infra-red system then there would be plenty of time for it to be in order. Of course, I did not need to do this since the spirit of the DDA is that a disabled person can take advantage of the facilities for such '.V\,.

2 J( people without prior notice being given. I was assured by City Books that the OMAC managers had told them that everything would be fine on the night. 7. On 20 November 2006 I arrived with Emma Eriksson, my companion for the evening who well understands my hearing problems. We arrived very early in order that I could check the induction loop or infra-red system. We were cordially greeted by Paul and Inga (I forget their surname) of City Books and staff of OMAC including Caroline Brown, Mr Neiman' partner. I asked to speak to Mr Neiman and I was told he was ill - which is often the case. I was offered a neck loop by a young man whom I was introduced to as Chris (I now know he is Chris Seymour). This failed to work and so I asked for a second one. This also failed to work and when I asked for a third one Chris told me that charging of the batteries had been overlooked. I got the impression that he was ill at ease with the use of neck loops. I accepted the fact that I was not going to get a functioning induction loop. 8. Chris also said two things that seemed strange to me. He said that the curtains interfered with the induction loop system. He also said that the stage on which Mr Bowen was to stand was not suitable for the infra-red system. 9. What to do? I could either go home or try to do the best I could. I spoke to Mr Bowen and told him the situation. It was agreed that I and Emma would sit very near Mr Bowen when he gave his talk and he would be mindful of the fact that I would strain to hear him. Emma has perfect hearing. At this juncture I mention that for most hearing impaired ~ people it is not the volume of speech that is the main criterion of being able to understand. ~ Speech is distorted in the air but people with normal hearing can cope with this very well. For people with defective hearing this distortion is difficult to overcome. An induction loop or infra-red system can remove this distortion because nearly all the signal form the speakers mouth to the recipients hearing aid is transmitted by electro magnetic waves rather than by sound pressure changes. Thus, semi-magically, a very clear interferencefree signal can be received...:: ~or a :nduction loop to function, the recipient must wear hearing aids switched to the -- sa-:"'g '.'] "..earingaids have a 'T' setting. There are two types of neck loops suitable &or-"'fra-red systems. Type 1 can on:y function with hearing aids supplied with 'T' settings. Type 2 are suitable for people without hearing aids. The websites of venues which I have printed out are supplied with one type or the other or both. 11. I could hear about half of what Jeremy Bowen said. I was pleased to note that there was a roving radio-controlled microphone available. The point of this is that the audience could put questions via that microphone giving the other people in the audience a chance to hear the questions. This was of some use to me and I was glad it was there but of course it did not have the benefit of being part of an induction loop or infra-red system. r', 12. I refer to the three-part chain on November 2006 between myself and Paul of City Books. This is self explanatory. I never did hear back from Stephen Neiman about the firm called 'Accessibility, Lewes' or similar name. A perfectly sighted person has looked in both BT and Yellow Pages directories on the Internet for any such firm without success. I have visited Mr Neiman at least twice in recent years in attempts to get to grips with the problem with the alleged infra-red system. These have not been successful and have just resulted in promises, promises I wrote to Michael Ray, a trustee of OMAC on 10 December 2006 (document number 3). I was disappointed to receive no response whatsoever. I concluded that once again OMAC was just hoping that I would go away or fall under a number 49 bus. I have no such plans. Accordingly I could see no alternative but to launch this case. Colin BG:~MZo::I;,/1~. This is a statement of truth

3 Page 1 of 5., Colin B Bennett r...f From: To: Sent: Subject: "Colin B Bennett" <colinbbennett@palmeira.org.uk "City Books - Hove" <info@citybookshove.co.uk 28 November :35 Re: At the end of my tether! Thanks, Paul In fact it was Stephen N. that phoned me yesterday. He told me that the Old Market had been vetted twice by 'Accessibility, Lewes' or some such name. He promised to me the contact details of that firm and was happy for me ~ to talk to them directly. However that has not yet happened. If you happen to know the contact details perhaps you would let me know. Otherwise please bung this to Stephen or Chris Seymore. I'm sorry but I ~a..:'e!1'ttheir addresses. As you can imagine I'm anxious to wrap up this matter. All best A Colin Colin Bennett Hove My telephone number is : +44 (0) Skype ID : colinhove My main address is col inbben nett@palmeira. org. uk BTW: my blog is bennettsworld.blogspot.com Please use black font if you can (when replying)!

4 Page 2 of5 ( Original Message From: "City Books - Hove" <info@citybookshove.co.uk To: "Colin B Bennett" <colinbbennett@palmeira.org.uk Sent: Monday, November 27,2006 4:06 PM Subject: RE: At the end of my tether! DEAR COLIN, I HAVE FORWARDED THIS TO THE OLD MARKET. THE TECHNICIAN THAT YOU SPOKE TO IS CHRIS '" SEYMOUR. HE IS VERY HELPFUL. I'LL ASK HIM TO PHONE YOU. REGARDS, PAUL. Original Message----- From: Colin B Bennett [mai Ito: col inbben nett@palmeira.org. u k] ".. Sent: 27 November :11 To: info@citybookshove.co.uk Cc: Damian Brewer Subject: At the end of my tether! Dear Paul and Inga Last week I went in to your shop and spoke to your helpful young woman there. I asked her to send an to The Old Market telling them the address of my blog. The point of that was for them to look

5 Page 3 of 5 at the blog and especially on the item called DDA Claim. Dossier. That shows that I am serious when it comes to enforcing the law about provisions for people with hearing problems. Without going into things too much now, things have been going for a long time and we appear no nearer resolution. The bold fact is that The Old Market is in breach of the DDA. It doesn't bother me who is legally ~ responsible: the person who sold me a ticket for the event there or the management of the premises. I just want to get things sorted out once and for all. Y8~ may recall that I had a promise on 20 November 2006 that they would meet me and move towards sorting out the problem at The Old Market. The problem is we have been here at least twice before. A couple of ~ years ago Nigel Freedman of the Argus extracted a promise from Steven Neiman that things would be put in order. Accordingly, Nigel did not go ahead with the proposed article. It seemed to me that The Old Market has spent quite a lot of money on equipment but it appears that the equipment is not suitable or just does not

6 Page 4 ot 5 work. I think moneyhas beenwasted. What must now happen is that Steven N should decide to call in a specialist organisation to assess the needs of all parts of The Old Market for people with hearing problems. It may well be that the existing infra red systems can be used as a basis on which to do this. You might remember that the staff at The Old Market told me only some parts of the stages were accessible for the infra red system. We also heard that the,.. staff thought the the curtains interfered with the infra red system. This is all very silly. What we want is what is taken for granted in other ve""ues such as :""e Ga:-drier Centre,Theatre Royal,The Domeand the Chichester Theatre. After The Old Market had an assessment on what it needed then contracts could be sought for what it needed. It is usually not a good,.- ~" idea to have the same firm assess what is needed and also to provide it - for obvious reasons. I suggest that the most obvious organisation to assess what it needed at The Old Market is the RNID who have an office in Queen's Road, Brighton. I have contacts there. Would you kindly forward this to The Old Market and ---- i

7 Page 5 of5 impress upon them that I have the bit between the teeth. You my also care to look at my blog. Best wishes and thank you for your co-operation. yours Colin Colin Bennett Hove My telephone number is : +44 (0) Skype ID : colinhove? My main address is colinbbennett@palmeira.org.uk BTW: my blog is bennettsworld.blogspot.com Please use black font if you can (when replying)! -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. ""it Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: / Virus Database: /541 - Release Date: 20/11/2006