Colin: I started Blackpool’s Disability Forum
When One Voice Becomes Many
For nearly a decade Colin Morris asked Blackpool Council for one thing: marked boccia courts so his disabled son Christopher could play this paralympic sport in his home town. Sympathetic officials promised to look into it, cited budget constraints and suggested he seek external funding.
Meanwhile Colin, in his 70’s, had no choice but to get on his hands and knees but mark out a court with tape on the floor of Blackpool Sports Centre.
Speaking on the Other Side of Blackpool Podcast in 2022 Colin set out his case to the lead councillor and officer for leisure services:
“For six years I’ve been asking for a courts..a 74 year old man getting down on my hands and knees and taping up the courts with tape..and I shouldn’t have to.”
In July 2024, Colin stood at Blackpool Sports Centre looking through the window at newly marked boccia courts. The floor had been stripped and sealed. Blackpool could finally host games.
What changed? Colin’s individual voice became part of something larger – Blackpool’s first Disability Forum.
What Colin was struggling to do on his own, he did when other residents joined his cause.
Blackpool's Disability Forum emerged from a concern for Colin and other disabled people who didn't seem to be getting a hearing
Lindsay Barlow of Disability First in Blackpool said,
We’re all members of this community. We’re council taxpayers. We pay for these services. We should have a say in how these services are delivered.”
Blackpool’s Disability Forum meets regularly at venues all over Blackpool and is sponsored by Disability First of Whitegate Drive, Blackpool.