2 December 2009 Access to Leisure Facilities - Calling Time

Inclusion Now - Calling Time

Since 2 December 1996 it has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to disability.

We wanted to assess the picture today. How accessible is the leisure industry? Do disabled young disabled feel they have the same access to leisure opportunities as their non disabled peers? We wanted to uncover examples of particularly good and bad practice. Ultimately, how stressful is relaxing? 

What we did:

Over one hundred Trailblazers from across the UK have spent two months researching and collating evidence on the problems faced by young disabled people when they try to use leisure facilities such as pubs, clubs, cinemas, theatres, sports facilities and museums. Trailblazers filled out questionnaires on their experiences and opinions of using leisure facilities. We also surveyed eighty leisure venues and carried out interviews, wrote blogs and made film of our experiences.

The result of our research is the investigative report Calling Time:

Key findings:

  • Four out of five young disabled people do not feel confident that they can pursue a leisure activity spontaneously.
  • Four out of five young disabled people have experienced difficulties using a leisure facility because they are a disabled person.
  • Four out of five thought that the accessibility of leisure facilities in their area was average, poor or very poor.
  • Two out of five young disabled people perceived the accessibility of leisure facilities in their area as poor or very poor.
  • Four out of five young disabled people surveyed felt that most people who work for leisure pursuit organisations did not understand the issues disabled people face

 Action needed:

 We are calling on Government, local authorities to ensure that:

  • all small businesses have access to funding and expert advice from young disabled people, so they are able to make adjustments that will make their buildings fully accessible
  • a proper accessibility audit is carried out on all venues that apply for licenses for catering, entertainment or retail and applications are rejected if a venue cannot provide disabled customers with a fully accessible service.
  • all employees receive relevant and practical disability awareness training with opportunities to meet with young disabled people and find out what is important to them.
  • accessibility and comfort for disabled people is at the heart of all future developments at leisure venues

 

 

 

1 Comment

  • David Freeman replied on 22 Apr 2010 at 11:42
    Report abuse

    I have had many falls in my gym because the staff do not fully understand my condition. I have merrf and have a bad case of spinocerebellar ataxia. Unfortunately using a treadmill is difficult for me. Apart from this the staff are caring and know me well.
    Having discussed all the facts we are now going to abandon the treadmill. Am quite happy about this.

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