PUXTON Park in Somerset has hit back at suggestions by the minister for disabled people that all British tourism venues need to provide better access for disabled visitors.
A recent survey of 52 of Britain’s 100 most visited attractions, conducted by charity Vitalise, found 63 per cent were not fully wheelchair-accessible.
It also found many venues did not train staff in disability awareness, 44% offered no discount for disabled people and 25% did not have fully accessible approaches to their doors.
A further 26% did not have accessibility information available on their websites and hoists were only available in 19% of places, a facility which Vitalise describe as “an indispensable item for some disabled guests”.
The survey results led Mark Harper MP to call on the British tourist industry to look at what more they can do to better cater for disabled travellers.
However, Puxton Park, outside Weston-super-Mare, says while many venues need to do more, it is one of the tourism venues leading the way in providing exceptional facilities.
Managing Director, Alistair Mead, said: “It is disappointing to see these results and to learn that other British tourism venues are failing to meet the necessary standards, but here at Puxton we can assure our visitors that we take accessibility extremely seriously.
“We want to ensure that all visitors can experience an enjoyable visit and therefore we provide full information regarding accessibility on our website and offer wheelchair hire.
“We offer a discount for blue badge holders, offer fully accessible approaches to all areas of the park with additional ramps into our dairy; we have wheelchair height activity learning boards, disabled car parking, lifts for upper level access and disabled friendly toilets.
“We also regularly review our practices and procedures and always welcome any further suggestions on how to improve access further.”
Source: Western Morning News
