Access magazine Issue December 2014 edition, published 14 November 2014.
This month Brad flags up where tourist attractions are going wrong and how football clubs are picking up the slack…
As we gear up for the schmaltz of Christmas and start breaking out our favourite festive songs, word on the street is that UK’s top tourist attractions need to work harder on accessibility. With half term finished and the holiday season fast approaching, the disability
charity Vitalise has issued a stark warning with an in-depth study and the launch of #accessNOW; a campaign designed to push for urgent change.
I applaud and totally agree with Vitalise’s findings. The charity recently highlighted the scale of the problem, while acknowledging those attractions that are actually doing their bit, at a gala celebration of Accessible Travel and Tourism held at the Tate Modern.
The law of the land
I don’t like to use the word ‘disablism’ in this context, but that’s exactly what’s happening under our noses and it just isn’t good enough. Why should people with disabilities miss out on the best of the UK’s cultural heritage due to lack of access? The Equality Act 2010 was designed to extend the rights of disabled people, clarifying and extending the provisions first laid out in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There’s
also ‘Approved Document M – Access to and Use of Buildings’, which forms part of the UK’s building regulations and sets out minimum standards with the aim of promoting universal accessibility for all. It’s the law of the land in England’s green and pleasant, yet this seems to be neglected!
The UK’s top 100 most visited tourist attractions are missing out on their share of the estimated £212 billion** annual spending power of disabled visitors – the so-called ‘purple pound’. It just doesn’t make sense, does it?
I therefore commend this Vitalise initiative, and strongly urge you fine readers get involved via social media. For more insight, check out www.vitalise.org.uk. However, it’s not all doom and gloom – at least where access to the The Beautiful Game is concerned. I am, of course, referring to football. Our national sport is there to be enjoyed by absolutely everyone, and at many a venue the length and breadth of this fine land, football has taken a lead by showing disablism the red card.
For the greater good Yours truly is a mad keen footie fanatic, and has been ever since those halcyon days when we used ‘jumpers for goalposts’ and consumed half-time oranges. These days I’m a fully functioning member of the England Disabled Supporters Club and sit on the Disability Committee at my club, Chelsea FC. The Disabled Club is free to join, and as a member I’m entitled to attend the fully accessible
area of stadium to cheer on my team at home games throughout the season. Moreover, I also have the option to go to around five games a season with my carer completely free of charge! Gratis football– yes please!
The club will even provide you with free car parking at the ground if you get in quick and make the necessary arrangements with a Disabled Liaison Officer once you’ve received your complimentary tickets. In my experience, the Chelsea stewards are incredibly helpful, and you can tell they’ve had disability awareness training. Contrast that with those top 100 tourist attractions, at which only 17% of staff had received proper training to assist disabled visitors.
There is nothing more exciting than seeing your team play live, if football does it for you. I know that our National Sport is awash with obscene amounts of money, but it’s still nice to see something being done for the greater good. Perhaps our top tourist attractions should take note…
* Vitalise carried out its survey between 20th June and 24th September 2014 across the top 100 most visited tourist attractions in the UK, as measured by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
** Figures cited by the Department for Work and Pensions in August 2014, based on the Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income (HBAI) findings – see tinyurl.com/212-billion-dwp for more.
