DisabledGo in Torbay

A pioneering new guide has been launched across Torbay that will empower the area's thousands of disabled residents.

As part of its commitment to improving access for disabled people, Torbay Council has teamed up with DisabledGo and national sponsors Marks & Spencer to open up all Torbay has to offer to disabled residents and visitors. The guide will enable disabled people to experience hundreds of shops, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and other public venues.

DisabledGo is an excellent innovation to help people with disabilities gain access to services that many of their neighbours would take for granted. Whether you are a visitor planning a trip to Torbay for the first time, or a local resident organising a night out, this tool will enable you to do this with confidence.  The council, local businesses and the voluntary sector have pulled together to break down another barrier for local and visiting disabled people alike.

Funded by a partnership between Torbay Council and Marks & Spencer, researchers from DisabledGo have visited hundreds of local businesses to assess their access. Each of the 1,000 included businesses will receive free disability awareness materials on how to offer a better service to disabled customers.

Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80-billion. Those are numbers that any business should take seriously. The constant need to write or telephone to enquire about access can really affect people's confidence when it comes to getting out and doing what they want to do. DisabledGo ends that uncertainty by enabling people to judge for themselves whether a shop, restaurant or theatre meets their own needs. Users of the guide can access information by logging on to the DisabledGo website, where they can check, for example, whether a pub is accessible to a wheelchair user, whether a cinema can offer a hearing loop, whether an hotel offers adapted rooms, and whether a restaurant welcomes assistance dogs and offers menus in Braille.

The project will also help raise awareness among local businesses that a huge number of people are affected by access issues in our beautiful area, and that becoming more accessible is all about providing better service to more customers.

DisabledGo is currently available and being introduced to more than 30 UK towns and cities, including Brighton and Edinburgh. The web guide has been Radio 2's 'Website of the Day' and was awarded a Big Tick for Excellence by Business in the Community in recognition of its work.