Access all areas

FOR you and me the little step up into the Woodlands charity shop in York's Melrosegate is no big deal. We would step over without even noticing it was there. For Lynn Jeffries in her wheelchair it is a barrier as effective as a locked door.

After struggling to push her wheelchair up the three-inch rise we eventually decide to go in backwards - and almost bang into a shelf inside.

It's a neat illustration of the frustrations faced by people in wheelchairs when trying to do ordinary things such as shopping that the rest of us take for granted.

But not for much longer. From October, new laws come into force which mean shops and other organisations which don't take steps to make themselves more accessible to people with a whole range of disabilities and impairments could find themselves paying a hefty fine.

Which is why we are here.

Woodlands - a charity which works with people with MS - has done the sensible thing and carried out an 'audit' of its shop to see what changes need to be made if it is to comply with the new Disability Discrimination Act.

And Lynn, a consultant who advises on disabled access, has been invited along to check on progress.

The new Act will apply to everything from small charity shops to high street giants such as Marks and Spencer - as well as other organisations providing a service to the public, such as hospitals, theatres, pubs and cinemas.

For the first time, too, small businesses will be affected.

From October they will have the same responsibility to ensure they don't discriminate against disabled employees as larger companies already have.

This doesn't just mean making sure you have ramps in place, says Lynn.

Businesses will be expected to open up to people with hearing problems, visual impairments and learning difficulties, whether as customers or potential employees.

"Many people still think access to services is just about physical access to buildings, such as installing ramps and lifts for wheelchair users," says Lynn.

"The duty is much wider than that and covers, for example, the need to provide appropriate telephone facilities, which allow people with hearing impairments to make contact through call centres, written information in formats accessible by people with visual impairments, and employment practices accessible to everyone so disabled people can compete on an equal level."

Very often, Lynn says, it's as much about attitude as anything else. There have been some extraordinary examples of blatant discrimination against people with disabilities, often by organisations which should have known better.

In one case, a zoo was taken to court for banning people with learning disabilities on the grounds they put other visitors off coming.

"Bournemouth was taken to court for not allowing people with wheelchairs on the beach" says Lynn. "They allowed dogs, but not people in wheelchairs."

Where businesses do need to make changes to their premises, however, they needn't cost the earth, says Lynn. Often just improving the lighting, re-arranging shelving, or redecorating to increase visual contrasts can make all the difference.

The Woodlands charity shop is a great example of that.

Volunteer fund raising co-ordinator Rachael Brayshaw talks us through what is being done.

A ramp is to be put in place on the pavement outside so that our difficulties with Lynn's wheelchair should soon be a thing of the past.

But it is the changes inside the shop that are the real eye-openers.

It used to be so cluttered that actually moving around inside with a wheelchair would have been almost impossible. Simply moving the central display area has created two wide aisles down each side of the shop with bags of space.

"We were just looking at this thing saying 'does it move?'" says Rachael. "And it did!"

New, low shelves have been fitted along the walls, which allow storage of some items on the floor (which helps small people, as well as those confined to a wheelchair, Lynn points out), and all the price labels have been re-written in new, larger letters - with felt tip pens instead of ballpoints, to make the lettering clearer.

One big misconception many people have is that there is no point trying to make writing bigger or clearer, Lynn says. "They say things like 'why do I need to increase the print size, because blind people can't see. But of the people registered as blind, 99 per cent do have some sight."

For the same reason lighting can be hugely important. At Woodlands, new strip-lighting has been installed which has made the whole shop brighter and more cheerful - making it a more pleasant place for all customers, Rachael points out, as well as easier for people with poor sight to see.

Then there is the decor. One of the best ways to improve accessibility for people with visual impairments is to decorate using contrasting colours, says Lynn.

A radiator painted a different colour to the wall can stop someone getting a nasty burn, for example - while a toilet seat that is a contrasting colour to the walls and bowl can make a loo much easier to use.

Then there are signs. Block capitals are very hard to read for anyone who has dyslexia or is partially-sighted, Lynn says. Lower case letters, printed large in black on white, are much better.

None of the changes made at Woodland need to cost very much, according to Lynn and Rachael, a point being emphasised by the Government.

"Opening up to disabled customers and staff is not all about expensive ramps and lifts," Minister for Disabled People Maria Eagle, who is leading the campaign to raise awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act among businesses, says.

"In fact it could be a lot easier than businesses think. Many quick and cheap DIY solutions could make all the difference to disabled people and get businesses well on the way to meeting their new duties.

"Improving lighting and signage and painting walls and doors in contrasting colours aren't difficult things to do but can be a great help to visually impaired people.

"Lowering shelves and widening aisles for wheelchair users are also improvements that can be done cheaply and quickly.

"There are more than ten million disabled people in Britain, with spending power worth about £50 billion.

"It makes business sense to ensure they are able to spend their money and business sense for employers to tap into that pool of talent."

The one thing shops, small businesses and other organisations mustn't do, says Lynn, is hide their heads in the sand and hope for the best. If they do, they are liable to end up in front of a tribunal.

The disability legislation first began to take effect eight years ago - and since then firms have had plenty of warning about the final phase of the new act which comes into force in October.

Pleading that they need more time won't wash. Maria Eagle agrees. "Firms that don't think now about what reasonable changes might be required could find themselves facing costly legal action come October," she says.

You have been warned.

For a disability audit of your organisation, contact Lynn Jeffries at JD Associates on 01904 870781. Asking disabled people for their views can also be very helpful, suggests Lynn

Updated: 09:58 Friday, August 27, 2004