Disability group aiming for ‘scores on doors’ ratings
A GROUP of people with disabilities from Bridgend are hoping their idea of a “scores on the doors”-like rating system could soon be used to judge accessibility in public places.
Members of Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People (BCDP) hope the idea, inspired by the food hygiene ratings system, will improve access to all stores, restaurants, businesses and transport companies in Wales.
Like the food hygiene system, each premises would be awarded a number from zero to five, depending on how accessible and disabled-friendly they are.
The idea was born when member John Raikes made a “random” comment at a recent meeting.
BCDP chair Simon Green said: “On hearing his remark a lightbulb went off in my head and I thought what an amazing idea and we spent a few weeks working on it and then sent it into the Welsh Assembly as a petition.”
The petition already has more than 1,500 online signatures with hundreds more on the paper versions, which have been sent all over Wales.
The group hope to get 5,000 by March in order to stand a chance of getting the idea debated in the Senedd.
The campaign has received support from politicians from all the main parties in the Welsh Assembly and a number of Welsh MPs, with many signing and publicly supporting.
As part of the system, there would also be further symbols underneath the rating to show what facilities they have, for example logos showing if the premises are fully wheelchair accessible or if it has an accessible toilet.
Mr Green added: “Accessibility has vastly improved in the 14 years I’ve used a wheelchair, but we still have a long way to go.
“But when people talk about access they nearly always think of wheel- chairs, wide doorways, lifts and ramps, but with this we want to improve facilities for all impairments and for businesses to make it clear what they offer.
“There are many places in the Bridgend county area, and around Wales that look inaccessible, but they have side entrances or portable ramps that can be brought outside.
“There are also many places that have hearing loops and braille menus but they don’t advertise the fact they have them.”
He said the group also wanted the scheme to cover transport companies, “so people know how many wheelchair spaces a bus or train has”, and whether or not there are audio and visual displays.
He added: “We recently had a case where one of our members who is completely blind got on a train at Cardiff travelling to Bridgend. The train she boarded normally stops three times before getting to Bridgend but for some reason on this day it did not stop at Llanharan. Believing the fourth stop was Bridgend she mistakenly got off at Wildmill and was all alone and totally unaware where she was. If there had been audio announcements she would have known that the train was not stopping at Llanharan and Bridgend would be stop three.”
Kristiana Buffett, who runs the Ancient Britain pub in Newton, Porthcawl, said: “It is an ex- cellent idea and I will be happy to do whatever it takes to make my pub more accessible. We will though, need information and advice on how to do this and not just be left to work it out for ourselves.”
The group said the Welsh Government had told them there was “a lot of merit” to the idea, which it said “would be discussed”.