22 July 2008
Eastbourne Borough Council’s commitment to the disability equality duty and to disabled people was clearly demonstrated this week as the Council hosted an ‘Access Eastbourne’ event at the Congress Suite. The event, opened by the Council’s Disability Champion Councillor Andrew Goodwin, was attended by a number of disabled people and groups in the town, local businesses, organisations and hoteliers.
The Disability Champion Councillor, Andrew Goodwin said “We want to enable people in Eastbourne and around the world to have full access to our town. If it means looking on a website and finding out which restaurant has an accessible toilet, then we need to provide that information. The event was just one opportunity for Eastbourne residents, disabled people and businesses to provide feedback to the Council on the options we should go for. We are committed to improving access to Eastbourne ensuring it is a friendly, welcoming and inclusive town for everyone.”
The invited audience received detailed presentations from Brighton and Hove’s Federation of Disabled People and DisabledGo a national web-based enterprise. Two very different options were put forward of how Eastbourne facilities could be reviewed for accessibility and how this would help to raise Eastbourne’s profile as a more accessible town.
The Chair of the Disability Involvement Group, Monica Elsen said “We see this event as forming the start of a positive dialogue between a number of sectors in the town and disabled people. A dialogue we are more than happy to be involved in. Any initiative which helps to raise awareness of accessibility, an often emotive subject, can only be a good thing. Improving access to facilities for disabled people improves access for everyone of course.”
The two options can be viewed on the Brighton and Hove Federation of Disabled People ‘City Guide’ and DisabledGo websites. The Council is keen to know how people feel about these two different approaches and how they could work for Eastbourne. If you have a view please share it by contacting us.
