Eastbourne’s Beacon Centre will hold Purple Tuesday 2019 for a second consecutive year

The Beacon Centre in Eastbourne will hold Purple Tuesday for a second consecutive year in a bid to improve customer experience for disabled people.
The Beacon Centre, Eastbourne SUS-181130-141157001The Beacon Centre, Eastbourne SUS-181130-141157001
The Beacon Centre, Eastbourne SUS-181130-141157001

The awareness day, organised by Eastbourne Access Group and Inclusive Eastbourne with the support of The Beacon, will take place on November 12.

There will be stands outside River Island from 10am until 4pm where customers can talk to organisations to find out about practical actions which can help the needs of disabled people.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bill Plumridge, manager of The Beacon, said, “We take accessibility for disabled customers very seriously and are constantly looking at ways we can help and improve their needs.

“We have given dementia and autism awareness training to our team and are organising disability awareness training too. All our stores have shown a commitment to becoming more accessible.”

Purple Tuesday was held for the first time last year and was aimed specifically at the retail sector. More than 1,500 pledges were made to improve the experience for disabled customers.

These included commitments such as staff training, digital audits, better signage and training of frontline staff in basic British sign language and becoming dementia friendly.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The event is being rolled out across all sectors by disability organisation Purple in its second year.

The council’s Rebecca Whippy said, “As a council we are committed to improving disabled access across the town and so we are delighted to support the second Purple Tuesday in The Beacon.

“We support its vision to see disability as an opportunity and to be part of addressing the inequality that exists for disabled people through increasing accessibility for everything they do.”

Eastbourne Borough Council and the Eastbourne Disability Involvement Group are sponsoring the event which is also supported by Eastbourne Blind Society, Eastbourne Hearing Resource Centre, Eastbourne Shopmobility and Canine Partners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gaylor Sadlo, director of Inclusive Eastbourne, said, “We are really pleased to organise the second Purple Tuesday event in Eastbourne.

“We’re urging local businesses to sign up for the event and make a lasting commitment to changing their organisation to better the experience for disabled customers as well as their carers and families.”

For more information, visit www.purpletuesday.org.uk

Related topics: