Charged with ensuring that the partners’ vision of turning Exhibition Road into the most accessible cultural quarter in the world is realised, Cllr Lamont will be working with traffic engineers and disabled groups on the final form of the scheme.

Partially sighted as a result of optic atrophy, Cllr Lamont is a seasoned campaigner on behalf of the blind and partially sighted. As a trustee of the charity BlindArt he has worked to remove barriers to the visual arts for all, inclusive of visually impared people. As a member of the Academy of Urbanism, he campaigns for better urban design.

Elected as a Kensington and Chelsea Councillor in 2006, he is a former gallery owner and a director of a successful interior design company.

“I’m a fan of the principles of the scheme,” said Cllr Lamont. “Exhibition Road will become one of the few places where cars have to look out for me and not the other way round. When you have a serious visual impairment as I do, that’s good news.

“But the details can make or break this scheme. We must find solutions that consider equally wheelchair users and the frail elderly and the other disabled groups too. That will require compromises, not only by the scheme partners but also by disabled activists so that the area is accessible to all, with disabilities or without.

“I believe the scheme partners are genuinely committed to ending the exclusion of disabled people from the internationally important institutions of South Kensington. If I see that commitment slip I will be there to remind them of it, in no uncertain terms.”

Studies suggest that the current layout of Exhibition Road has effectively made it a no-go area for people with disabilities, including wheelchair and stick users as well as blind and partially sighted people.

“I’m delighted about Andrew’s appointment,” said Cllr Nick Paget Brown, Cabinet Member for Transport. “Few people understand the access issues better than he does. I’ve no doubt that as a result of his involvement we will end up with a better scheme that is truly accessible to everyone.”

For further press information please contact:
Kristina Crowe / Ceri Bevan, Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster
Phone 020 7257 9821 / 0207 467 9250
Email: Blrbkc@bisslancaster.com

Notes to Editors

The southern half of Exhibition Road is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with the northern section in Westminster. The road runs north from outside South Kensington Tube station, past the Natural History Museum, the V&A, Science Museum and Imperial College, to Hyde Park and the area bordered by the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Albert Hall. The junction of Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road is the responsibility of TfL and part of the TfL Red Route network.

The Exhibition Road scheme will be delivered in two stages. Stage one commenced in February 2009 to unravel the gyratory system around South Kensington Tube station while stage two which will deliver the major streetscape improvements will start in October 2009. The total cost of stage one is approximately £5.7million and stage two will cost approximately £18.8m.

The full design detail of stage two is still in planning and will not be finalised until June.