Member Article

Key Landmarks Put Accessibility Under the Spotlight

Two key landmarks in the North East are leading the way in developing accessibility and user experience at their sought after venues. Bamburgh Castle and Spanish City are in the throes of an Access Audit with award-winning Tailored Leisure Company (TLC), a company on a mission to overcome the barriers and social exclusion faced by disabled people, specifically in terms of access to leisure activities.

The two venues have proactively sought the support of TLC to complete an Access Audit which takes an in depth look at both access to the venue and user experience to support the venues to identify opportunities for further development, and enhancement of a positive user experience.

TLC recently picked up an influx of award nominations for their ground-breaking work and have established a strong collaborative working approach to drive the development of accessible projects across the region, with partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway.

Tara Johnson, Director of Tailored Leisure Company who set up the company due to her own experiences of living with cerebral palsy said:

“We are delighted to have been commissioned by the two iconic venues to undertake their Access Audit. Both venues are very open to making the venues as accessible as possible to visitors who may have a variety of accessibility needs.

In our past experience we’ve seen some venues approach accessibility (especially if they are listed buildings) with the mindset that they can’t make changes due to restrictions, but the audits take this into account. We work with venues to make sure that the accessible parts are the most positive experience possible for visitors, whilst at the same time managing visitor expectations may that be through website communications ahead of attending to adapting resources on arrival.

Bamburgh Castle for example, although listed have welcomed the audit and are very keen to make the experience more accessible such as through sensory packs, or video generated content for areas that are impossible to be accessed so visitors are not missing big gaps of the experience at these magical and historic sites.“

Bamburgh Castle is a Grade I listed building, crowning nine acres and is England’s finest coastal fortress. James Boyd, Visitor Services Manager at Bamburgh Castle said:

“It has been great to welcome the team from TLC onsite to experience all that Bamburgh Castle has to offer. As a Grade I listed building we are all too aware that there are areas that are out of bounds in terms of accessibility. Customer experience is at the centre of everything we do and through working with the team and analysing the findings of the final report we look forward to implementing insights to further develop the experience.”

Originally completed in 1910, Spanish City reopened following a restoration project that saw historical features brought back to their former glory, with a host of new leisure facilities now taking residence inside the famous landmark.

Kyle Mackings, CEO, Kymel Trading Ltd said:

“We are very happy to be working with Tara and the team from TLC and it was our pleasure to have the team onsite at Spanish City. TLC are passionate about ensuring visitors have the best experience possible as are we and it’s great to team up with them to undertake the Access Audit, we look forward to the findings and working together to enhance visitor experience even further.”

Accessible leisure is at the forefront of the operations at TLC and they run a number of high-profile accessible fitness programmes alongside the Access for All campaign, a funding drive to support the development of an accessible short break and leisure service ‘The Butterfly of the North’ for individuals with disabilities and their families.

The first stage of the accessible short break and leisure service came to fruition in 2022 when TLC collaborated with one of Britain’s leading family holiday companies Haven. The collaboration saw TLC launch their first accessible short break service for families to enjoy a relaxing break in a fully accessible caravan at the site at Berwick Holiday Park, nestled on Northumberland’s breathtaking coastline.

Tara added,

“The development of the Access Audits are a poignant strand to our growth and service offer. It’s an area we are looking to further grow in the coming months from volunteer audits to the launch of a one stop portal for reviewed visitor experiences, which will have identified barriers to access by those with lived experience. There have been far too many occasions that I’ve had to leave leisure and tourist venues that I’ve been unable to access, which is very upsetting and even more so when you have children in tow too.

It all links intrinsically to our mission to remove barriers to access. The launch of the accessible break service with Haven was also a real pivotal moment for us, it was an amazing start to our exciting plans for accessible short breaks across the region. We love what we do, and we are determined to promote social inclusion and access to bespoke leisure activities, so that everyone can enjoy life without compromise.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Claire Pickersgill .