The valued Shopmobility service is set to make a return to Birmingham city centre later this year, a city council chief has claimed.

Council deputy leader Ian Ward said he expected the scheme would be up and running again and available in the Bullring by the end of September.

The scooter hire scheme, which was used 6,000 times a year by people who struggle to get around, controversially closed in March after the city council withdrew its grant funding due to budget cuts.

It had been operated by the Access Committee charity in the city centre since 1999.

Critics slammed the decision, saying it was a poor reflection that the region’s biggest shopping area could not support a scheme, while many smaller town centres, including Solihull and West Bromwich, did.

Cllr Ward (Lab Shard End) said: “The loss of the Shopmobility service does impact on people in Birmingham who have mobility issues.

“We have taken steps to ensure they can get from where they live into the city centre and we need to ensure they can move around and carry out their business.

“I am delighted to say that Bullring and Hammerson (Bullring’s owner) are now developing proposals to provide Shopmobility from the Bullring centre.

“The intention is to have a service operational again by the end of September.”

A Birmingham shopmobility vehicle

He added that the Access Committee “have done a tremendous job” and thanked them for the continued lobbying to get the service restored.

The Bullring suggested it was still too early to officially confirm the deal.

A spokesman said: “Since the announcement the Shopmobility scheme would be closing in March, we have been liaising with Birmingham City Council to try to find new partners and funding to enable the facility to re-open.

“We are continuing to do our utmost to find a solution that will allow the service to resume at the earliest opportunity.”

Access Committee chairman Terry Willis said they had not been directly involved in talks over the restored scheme but they were prepared to offer any help they could to get it up and running.

He added: “It is diabolical really that we had to close.

“Shopmobility is a lifeline for many people who would not otherwise be able to get about.

“They are also customers prepared to spend money in the shops so businesses are losing out too.”

Watch below: OAP rides mobility scooter along dual carriageway

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