JavaScript is required

Accessible Angus

Since the project began, Angus Remembers has worked in close partnership with Cllr Lois Speed. Lois helped us to build a project with accessibility at its core. “Accessibility is about making public spaces, services, and products usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. It is vital because it allows people with disabilities to participate in society on an equal basis with others. Accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact and contribute equally without barriers.” At the end of Phase 1 of our project, we created an accessibility checklist to help guide us into Phase 2.

An Angus COVID-19 memorial should be:

  1. Co-created with representatives of people disproportionately negatively impacted by COVID-19 in Angus and the wider community
  2. Available online and in-person
  3. Physically accessible by everyone
  4. Free to experience
  5. Attractive to people of all ages and experiences
  6. Close to a fully accessible toilet
  7. Able to offer sufficient parking, including disabled parking, and public transport links nearby
  8. Safe for everyone
  9. Available at times suitable for everyone
  10. Correctly monitored/staffed if required

Bench Accessibility

To create truly accessible benches, we decided it was vital for our sites to be close to a Changing Place. Lois explains what Changing Places are:

“Changing Places toilets are an essential addition to public spaces that provide additional facilities for people with disabilities. Standard accessible toilets do not always meet the needs of all people with disabilities or health conditions, including those, for example, with profound or multiple learning disabilities, spinal injuries, and muscular dystrophy. Changing Places toilets are designed to provide extra equipment and additional space to allow people and their carers to assist them in using the toilet safely and comfortably.”

Each Changing Places toilet provides the correct equipment, enough space, and a safe and clean environment. The equipment found in Changing Places includes a height-adjustable adult-sized changing bench, a tracking hoist system, or mobile hoist. Changing Places toilets are not a luxury, but a necessity. Without sufficient Changing Places, in addition to regular accessible toilets, the ability for some people to travel or use public spaces is greatly reduced. This can be an extremely difficult, lonely, and isolating experience.

“Accessibility is crucial because it helps address these issues and enables everyone to live as fully and as meaningful a life as possible whilst helping ensure that people are not excluded from participating in society.”

Carey Gibb, one of Angus Remembers Community Reps, is involved with a Prostate Cancer UK campaign and explains why public toilets should have bins in all cubicles:

“All people might need a bin at some point, including people like myself who have had prostate cancer. People might need to dispose of incontinence pads or stoma products, or hygiene or sanitary waste items. It’s more hygienic to have the bins in the cubicles, giving people privacy and dignity.”

Team members Amanda Taylor, Sarah, and Abbey Craig joined Carey and bench designer Mickey Fenton to explore the possible bench sites across Angus. The group made multiple visits to test out their mobility devices in different weather conditions and to find out what else in the area, aside from a Changing Place, was inclusive and available for people with disabilities. Designer/maker Mickey created opportunities for people to share in the design process as it evolved, including online and in-person workshops and questionnaires open to anyone in Angus.

A sunny blue sky behind a white building that says, ‘Cinema and Arts Venue’. There is a solid wooden bench, two men sit at opposite ends of the bench, both are smiling at the camera.
A greyscale image of the final Angus Remembers bench design, heavy wood, 4 legs at one end and 4 legs at the other end, a bridge-like section between the 2 bench sections. The bridge is only at the top of the bench, there is a large space below it.
Stacks of unfinished looking wood planks, held apart from each other, with short chunks of a different wood
A poster with graphics and writing. The heading reads “Have a seat and a say’. It is an invite to see initial bench design ideas and an opportunity to give feedback. The bench is solid all the way around, 3 people sit chatting, 2 people on either side of a person using a wheelchair and positioned in the middle of the bench.
A greyscale photograph showing a plank of wood surrounded by wood shavings and woodchips. A woodwork tool sits on top of the plank, it has a cylindrical wooden handle and a long, flat metal head.
Two people stand looking at posters of design concepts, one person is wearing a rain jacket and is pointing at something in one of the posters.
Man in his twenties, with a baseball cap on back to front, holds a wooden mallet and tool and works on a smooth, thick plank of oak wood. He is inside a workshop.
3 people stand looking at a huge sweep of green grass, trees and hills under a blue, white and grey cloud-filled sky. One person stands with a mobility walker, 2 people stand next to an empty wheelchair.
A man works with large pieces of wood inside a workshop. He wears a baseball cap back to front. He is using both of his hands outstretched, to work the wood with a tool. There are pieces of wood cut into various shapes and with sections cut out of them, large slots
3 people stand looking at posters of bench designs that are mounted into a wooden wall. Another man, in his twenties, points to a part of a design and is talking to the other 3 people.
A group of 5 people, mixed ages, most are wearing coats, stand around a very large table. Some are writing on pieces of paper, others are watching, they look relaxed and interested.
A sanded plank of oak, with 2 holes drilled in one section, sits outside. A pair of feet in the shot. The plank is pictured close up and we can see patterns, like water ripples, in the grains of the wood. What looks like a small, electric sander, sits on it.
A greyscale photograph shows a lattice-like wooden structure lying on an earthy surface. Similarly- sized pieces of cut wood that still have pieces of tree-trunk attached, are laid out across the lattice.
Inside an empty-looking shed or storage place a large, fully built oak bench sits behind a much smaller version of the same bench. They are raised up on large wooden palettes.
A middle-aged man bends over to write standing up. Behind him, wooden walls hold various pieces of pinned-up paper.
A bright sunny day, a side view of a large wooden bench, beside a bed of plants and flowers. There are steps going up towards the doors behind the bench. Film posters in large frames are on the building’s walls.
1/16
Previous
Next

Angus Remembers invites you to find a special place where you can relax. For a full list of Changing Place toilets in the UK please visit their website.

Download our activity here
Previous ProjectNext Project

Creating together through shared memories to offer hope and healing