A disability campaigner has won the right to take her case to the Court of Appeal in a legal battle over the Department for Transport's minimum kerb height guidance.
Campaigner Sarah Leadbetter had a judicial review claim against the DfT's 2021 Guidance on the use of Tactile Paving and its provision for a minimum kerb height of 25mm, heard early this year.
In February, the High Court found that the consultation period for the new guidance, which lasted just 12 days, was unlawful. However, the court declined to quash the guidance itself. Both sides sought permission to appeal the case.
The secretary of state for transport’s application was refused by the Court of Appeal, while Ms Leadbetter's was granted, meaning both parties face a further legal showdown in the court.
The DfT guidance states that 'in the absence of a kerb upstand greater than 25mm high, [the visually impaired] may otherwise find it difficult to differentiate between where the footway ends and the carriageway begins'.
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