Peterloo: Wheelchair lift plan for controversial memorial

The memorial features inscriptions designed to be read as people walk up and down its tiered design

A wheelchair lift could be added to Manchester's new memorial to the 1819 Peterloo massacre, which was criticised for a lack of disability access.

The controversial memorial was unveiled before Peterloo's 200th anniversary, but the circular-stepped feature came under fire from disability campaigners.

Another option put to the city's council is to erect a handrail to make the installation inaccessible to all.

One disability campaigner said disabled people "do not think a lift is viable".

Dr Morag Rose, who spoke at a council meeting about the plans, said the lifts were liable to break, require ongoing maintenance and "don't work for everyone".

She added: "We want a memorial that is accessible for everyone, and that is a fitting symbol of what Peterloo represents. Solidarity, democracy, equality and participation.

Another campaigner, Dennis Queen, said the "general feeling" was that a lift was not the best option.

"Most of us would like a ramp. The question is whether that's going to be possible.

"When it is finished, it'll be the first public speaker's platform and, in my mind, when we get this right, it'll meet it's aim."

The memorial was designed by Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller

The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field in Manchester in 1819, when crowds arrived to hear radical speaker Henry Hunt campaign for parliamentary reform.

At least 11 people were killed and 400 were injured when a troop of sabre-wielding cavalrymen charged into the crowds.

The memorial, designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, features inscriptions designed to be read as people walk up and down its tiered design.

But wheelchair users complained they were unable to access the installation fully.

Luthfur Rahman, the council's executive member for culture, said the authority "recognised" the issue and was determined "to put this right as quickly as possible".

In a report to the council's Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee, seven different options were suggested to remedy the problem.

Four of these are various designs for ramps, one of which would require the full demolition and reconstruction of the memorial.

Other options suggest making the memorial simply inaccessible to everyone by adding a handrail at the base, or the addition of a temporary ramp once a year to mark further anniversaries.

The committee will discuss the report on 5 September.