What is an Access Statement? Has your business got one?
If you don’t know the answer to the first question, then no doubt you won’t have one?
All business should have one. Our mission is to encourage every business to produce one and make it available for people to view on-line. Members of the public can then determine whether that business is suitably accessible for their needs.
We support Visit England‘s initiative to encourage businesses to produce an Access Statement. It is an excellent marketing tool to inform potential customers about your facilities and services. The ageing population, many of whom may have a disability, is growing rapidly. Deciding where to go may be more a function of how accessible a place is than other factors which traditionally were decisive.
Examples of Access Statements produced by accommodation businesses in the North East of England are:
- The Hytte – award winning self-catering timber lodge in Bingfield near Hexham, Northumberland
- Grindon Farm Old Farmhouse – 4 star rated self-catering cottage near Haltwhistle, Northumberland
- Battlesteads - multi eco award winning Inn and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland
These examples highlight the different ways to produce an Access Statement. It may be a simple descriptive document, as at Battlesteads. It may include photographs, like the Grindon Farm example, or be part of the business’s website, as at The Hytte.
Visit England provide a step-by-step Access Statement on-line tool to help you produce you Access Statement. Alternatively, contact us for assistance.
We would like to provide links to Access Statements of all businesses in the North East of England. If you have an Access Statement, please send details of your business, a link to your Access Statement or the actual document itself in pdf or Word format to steve@wheelchairsteve.com.
Video Access Statement
We’ve found a popular way to enhance the written Access Statement is to produce a video to show off your facilities. Some businesses have found that featuring someone using the facilities highlights particular features even more effective. See the following examples of the places above
The Hytte
You can have your own Video Access Statement from as little as £150, and it can be enhanced to include content of the cities, towns, villages, attractions and countryside in your surrounding area. Contact us at steve@wheelchairsteve.com or call 07834 760375 for more information.