Belper Went Purple! What’s That All About?

Nearly one in every five people in the UK has a disability or impairment, and over half of households have a connection to someone with a disability. Their collective spending power – the Purple Pound – is worth £249 billion to the UK economy.

So on Tuesday 13^th November a group of dynamic Belper shops joined the national event to welcome the disabled community to their businesses. They did this by working with Accessible Belper to make pledges that will ensure people can access their goods whatever their disabling condition.

These pledges included

• To work with Accessible Belper to provide ramps.

• To hold a children’s drawing competition about the barriers to accessibility in Belper.

• To provide their phone number and website details on their door for people unable to access their property.

• For all staff to attend disability awareness training.

• To provide staff trained in sign language.

It was a wonderfully welcoming day for the whole community. This initiative has only just begun but this awareness will develop a culture of understanding that is sustainable throughout the year.

The Chair of Accessible Belper, Siobhan Fennell met with the Government Minister for Disability Work and Pensions, Sarah Newton, last week. Sarah is already impressed with the reputation Belper is gaining for the work it is doing and would like to spread Belper practices nationally.

Accessible Belper would like to thank everyone who joined us in the Purple Tuesday event and look forward to working with you all in the future.