Coffe and cake anyone?

On October 2, 2023 / Access, Front Page, News, Training

Coffe and cake anyone?

On Friday we hosted a MacMillan Coffee morning to raise funds for such an important charity. We were joined by lots of friends old and new as we tucked in to some fantastic home-made treats from our very own Gemma Price, Accessible Wales’s answer to Mary Berry. One in two of us will face cancer in our lifetimes. If you are able to, please consider making a one-off donation to Macmillan here: https://donation.macmillan.org.uk/wbcm/one-off

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We were pleased to have raised £153 on the day, which will be donated to MacMillan to carry on their excellent work.

At the event we also celebrated the first stage of our Community Inclusion Project, the project aims at improving the accessibility of community buildings in the project areas. It also aims to raise awareness of difficulties disabled people use when accessing these vital community resources.

You can find out more about our new project by visiting the Community Inclusion Project page on our website. If you run a community building or are part of a group that works out of a community building in Cynon Valley please drop us an email on rjones@accessible.wales as you may be able to take part.

Thanks to all those who attended, representatives from Rhondda Cynon Taff, Tracey from Accessible Caring Transport, Emma from Hirwaun Village Hall, Beth Winter MP, Vikki Howells MS, PC Nick James, Tracey from New Horizons, Rhys from Hirwaun FC, Cllr Adam Fox and friends and family, Margaret, Owen, Jack, Richard, Mary, Julia, Lucy, Darren, Theo and Louise.

Thursday Thoughts

On June 15, 2023 / Front Page, News

#ThursdayThoughts

Today’s is Thursday and that means it’s the start of our #ThursdayThoughts series where we share a thought on disability, equality or accessibility.

Today’s thought focusses on the need to implement and enforce the Equality Act 2010. This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against people because of their protected characteristics. If you’d like to know more about the Equality Act, get in touch either by emailing us on info@accessible.wales or give us a call 01685 810432.

Out-of-town Developments: Are they a more accessible option for disabled people?

On May 11, 2023 / Access, Front Page, News

Out-of-town Developments: Are they a more accessible option for disabled people?

Having read with interest a recent report on BBC News about Out-of-town developments affecting town centre trade we write today with some
thoughts on the debate between out-of-town shopping developments versus the traditional town centres. An aspect of this debate that is
often overlooked is access for disabled people.

Accessible Wales are big supporters of the traditional town centre, with many friends owning or working in businesses on the high-street. They can be the heart of a community, bustling with shops, cafes, and other amenities. However, they can pose significant challenges for disabled people.

Principal Consultant, Richard Jones believe that out-of-town developments have huge benefits for disabled people, but also makes the following comment:

I am a big supporter of the town centre and would strongly urge decision makers to invest more time and money in improving access. If thought was put in to the access and provision in a town centre and disabled people were engaged with a big difference could be achieved.

Accessible Wales is willing to work with any business or town planner to help improve access as are many other access consultants and access groups, it’s just a case of reaching out and engaging. Download a fully copy of our statement here , for more information contact us using the contact us page.

Purple Tuesday – How could it help your business?

On October 26, 2021 / Disability Information, Front Page, News, Purple Tuesday

Purple Tuesday – How could it help your business?

We think it is important to make you aware of the initiative, Purple Tuesday, which will be taking place on 2^nd November 2021. The initiative is free for all organisations to take part and is focused around promoting the importance of the customer experience for 14.1 million disabled people in the UK.

Purple Tuesday 2021 is a programme for organisations and businesses of all sizes from all sectors to get involved in, with the common goal of improving the customer experience for disabled people 365 days a year.

Accessible Wales version of the Purple Pound

There is huge commercial value to be gained from taking part in this initiative. It is estimated that the purple pound – the collective spending power of disabled people and their families – is worth £6 trillion (approx.) worldwide, yet on average, it is estimated that only 10% of organisations have a plan in place to access this market. Which provides a huge opportunity for us to grow our customer base of disabled people and their families.

Disabled people make up 20% of the global population, which makes them the world’s largest minority group and 80% of disabled people have a hidden or invisible disability. This means that 1 in 5 people who enter our premises may have additional needs that may not be easily identifiable.

A family shopping — 1 in 5 people who enter our premises may have additional needs that may not be easily identifiable

Purple Tuesday was created and is organised by Purple, a disability organisation which aims to support businesses to develop their products and services for disabled people. Purple Tuesday is a call to action to organisations to better understand the needs of our disabled customers and to put the right solutions in place.

The Purple Tuesday brand has grown significantly, reaching over 13 million on social media, 130+ items of media coverage including national broadcast slots on BBC, ITV News and Radio 5 Live and over 20 local radio stations, as well as trending on twitter in 2019 alone.

In order to participate in Purple Tuesday, they simply ask we as an organisation make at least one new commitment to disabled customers which needs to be relevant 365 days a year. Some ideas include: disability awareness training (click the link to see information on our training), introducing the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, improving the accessibility of a website or physical space (the organisations above are just some of the companies we’ve worked with to improve their access). Purple also provide many resources for free which we can use to help us identify and fulfil our Purple Tuesday commitment, which you can gain free access to once registered. More information on the resources they have available can be found here.

We’ve also shared their Quiz for you here and you can have a go at their wordsearch here. How many can you get right?

Colourful Crossing, what are they?

On October 25, 2021 / Access, Front Page, News

Colourful Crossing, what are they?

Some time ago, we looked in to running a ‘Pretty Pothole’ project through Accessible News, it would involve putting flowers in the potholes around the community.

We were hoping it would have a number of benefits, firstly draw attention to how bad the road surfaces are, potholes, uneven surfaces and loose debris can cause difficulties for disabled people. Secondly, it was filling in those holes and making them more visible so that people didn’t get stuck or trip. Thirdly, it would brighten up the community; cheer people up, a bit of colour never hurt anyone, except it can!

There is a new craze spreading through cities, pedestrian crossings painted over with brightly coloured, often abstract, artistic designs, see some examples below:

While some may think they are beautiful, colourful and artistic they pose many problems for a lot of people. Crossings are a necessity to access one side of the pavement from another, these crossings pose a risk to people with visual impairments, the consistency and predictability of signage is fundamental to being able to navigate safely and independently.

The majority of visually impaired people have some sight. Designs and colours used on pedestrian crossings which are not consistent with traditional designs could cause confusion and risk safety. The use of black and white in traditional pedestrian crossings offer high contrast which is essential for people with low vision to detect them and stay on course when crossing roads.

We have also heard accounts from visually impaired people with light sensitivity who find the artwork painful to look at. It is also a concern for people with dementia who can often experience perceptual problems called ‘misperceptions’ where they view one thing as something completely different such as a dark area on the floor could look like a hole or blue paint could look like water, this can make people disoriented and scared.

Because of the pandemic and the restrictions to travel the streets were transformed; with widened pavements, traffic calming measures, additional space for cycling, and more. Many of these changes were rolled out at pace, and implemented without consultation with disabled people. We completely understand that there was an urgency to make changes and that consultation and discussions would have been time consuming however, this road art is of no urgency, costs a considerable amount of money and once again leaves disabled people as an afterthought.

————————

Images from:

https://news.leicester.gov.uk/news-articles/2020/september/colourful-crossings-link-city-centre-with-cultural-quarter/

https://www.designweek.co.uk/inspiration/colourful-crossing-camille-walala/

https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/colourful-crossings/

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

On May 20, 2021 / Access, Front Page, News

Global Access Awareness Day 2021

Yep, judging by the title of this post today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day and I thought it would be daft for us not to mention it.

I’m not going to bore you with a long article about how important it is for disabled people to be able to access, well everything, like everyone else, because in this day and age everyone should know that!!

Everyone at Accessible Wales shout about equality and kindness and yet venues still have steps so wheelchair users can’t access a take away coffee, or harsh lighting meaning a visually impaired person can’t read a menu.

Principal Consultant Richard Jones

Yes, it could be said that they can ring a bell for a coffee or a menu can be read to them etc. but why should that happen? I love my independence (too much as some of my family and friends would say) and I think it’s important that everyone should have the ability to do things for themselves.

Okay rant over (it’s a passionate subject) but please have a think, as its Global Accessibility Awareness Day, is there anything you can do to help?

There’s more information on the Global Access Awareness Day website You can always read about our access consultancy service on this website. Or call 01685 810432 for more information.

Thanks for stopping by

Disabled lady paying by card — What are your thoughts on access?

Accessible Wales… in association with the Access Association

On October 5, 2020 / Access, Access Association, Front Page, News

Accessible Wales… in association with the Access Association

Accessible Wales is proud to announce it is a member of the Access Association. The Access Association is a national network of individuals who are passionate about access and inclusive design. Their aim is to provide peer support and sharing knowledge.

We has been open for 13 years and as we enter a new phase in our life we are going to be developing our access consultancy service.

Above are just some of the companies and organisations who have benefited from our access service since we opened in 2007.

Richard Jones, Principal Consultant and founder had the following to say:

I am delighted that Accessible Wales has joined the Access Association. We initially opened up with the view to solely looking at access but then there was a desire from our clients for Disability Awareness Training. I feel that as we move in to the new normal post-Covid, access improvements will be more important than ever. That is why we want our fingers on the pulse to keep up to date with the latest legislation and best practices. Being a member of the Access Association will allow us to do that.

I’m of the firm belief that access is a right not a privilege and as such we should do all we can to make society more accessible

Over the next four months Accessible Wales will be concentrating on developing the access services currently offered with a view to re-launching it in early 2021. If you would like to know more about the services offered currently please visit our access consultancy page.

We’re confident… disability confident

On October 2, 2020 / Disability Confident, Disability Information, Front Page, News

We’re confident… disability confident

Accessible Wales Disability Confident Certificate

Accessible Wales is signed up to the Disability Confident scheme.The scheme supports employers helping them to open up to employing disabled people.

Over 18,000 organisations have signed up to the scheme. These organisations are playing a leading role in changing attitudes for the better.

These two websites will offer more information on the scheme.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign

https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/

#disabilityconfident

Principal Consultant Richard Jones made the following comments on the Disability Confident scheme:

As a disability consultancy company, with disabled people as the cornerstone of our operation it made perfect sense that we would sign up to this scheme. We are currently registered at level one but are striving to gain level two registration recognising the importance of doing as much as we can to promote good practice whenever possible.

Online Town Centre Accessibility Forum – Aberdare

On September 28, 2020 / Access, Disability Information, Events, Front Page, News

Let’s Talk Access

Statue of Caradog surrounded by new COVID19 barriers.

There have been many stories in the media about the potential decline in the town centres throughout the country. With the current COVID19 restrictions in place people are shopping more online and out of town for convenience and personal safety.

In 2007 Accessible Wales worked with Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority and traders in Mountain Ash to carry out a “Town Centre Access Improvement Project”. During this project the local authority commissioned Accessible Wales to carry out access audits for those businesses to help them to improve their access for disabled people.

We are now proposing to work with businesses in the eight town centres to help improve access for disabled people. Starting with an online forum ror businesses based in Aberdare on Thursday 5^th November at 10am for more information you can download the flyer here.

Following on from this meeting more events will be scheduled for businesses in Ferndale, Llantrisant, Mountain Ash, Pontypridd, Porth, Tonypandy, Treorchy. The project will then be evaluated and before rolling out to other local authorities.

This forum will be an opportunity to discuss what each business thinks are the key access issues in their area, and any potential access issues their business may have.

Principal Consultant Richard Jones working in Accessible Wales before lockdown restrictions

Principal Consultant Richard Jones says:

This is a great opportunity to engage with local businesses in the town centre to help improve access for disabled people. The online forum will be an independent vehicle to help start to make access improvements in Aberdare, with a view to it being rolled out to the other town centre and beyond.

Now more than ever it is important for small local businesses to do as much as they can to keep their doors open. We want to do as much as we can to help.

If you would like to know more about the services we offer please either get in touch with us via 01685 810432 or email info@accessible.wales.

The Glancynon Inn lives on!

On July 18, 2019 / Access, Cllient News, Disability Information, Front Page, News

The Glancynon lives on!

The Glancynon Inn, Hirwaun, one of our first access clients

I am delighted to have received a letter today confirming that planning application to knock down the Glancynon has been withdrawn.

As well as being one of our first clients Alun “The Glan” was a close friend and a mentor to me and I know he would be over the moon to know his pride and joy was not at risk of being demolished.

I am glad common sense prevailed and hope this fantastic community facility will thrive under the new management.

Best Wishes

Richard Jones

Principal Consultant