Accessible councils

rosieposey

Hi,

I am looking to move within England (or even the UK) as my current area has proven to be not so inclusive nor have many community initiatives for disabled people.

I am asking whether any of you have good experiences within your area in terms of accessibility and opportunities for disabled people community/employment wise.

Open to any and all recommendations.

Thanks.

Ross_Alumni

Hello @rosieposey

Thanks for making this post, I think it's always useful to hear about how accessible and inclusive, or not, different areas of the country are. Although it's always worth noting that everybody's experience will be different, and we each will have varying needs that our local area may or may not meet.

I will tag your post as unanswered, but I look forward to seeing what others will contribute. I'm sorry to hear that your current area is not ideal.

TheAlien

Avoid North Tyneside Council at all costs!  Their attitude to disability is shocking.  I can't go into details on a public forum, but they really are an eye opener.

I'm trying to move away from them.

TheAlien

I found this on the news this morning.  https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2022-01-07/plans-to-improve-accessibility-in-sunderland-city-centre

Sunderland seem to be quite proactive on accessibility.

Duninn

I’m very positive for Salford. It has and works with our Salford Disability Forum + Access2All Areas.  We are in the heart of Greater Manchester and our City Mayor is Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor and both he and Andy Bernham are committed to Equalities.  I’m a wheelchair user of 10years+ and stepped down as a Councillor in 2021 and feel confident in saying I chose to live in Salford as an abled bodied being and having no experience that would change my decision.🍀

newborn

If there's at least one active busy well known, publicised, funded disability organisation in a locality then a) it will be easy to find b) it will answer your questions c) it will be a point of contact when you move.

If on the other hand any local council can't instantly signpost you to any suitable organisation, and nothing comes up on a computer search, and/or the number you find or the email doesn't get a response, that would be a red flag you are going somewhere no better than the place you left. 

Councils ought to comply with public sector duty, and equalities law, but simply don't, with the exception of being terrified of being racist. Good, they should be terrified, but they should be equally terrified of being sexist, disablist or ageist