Bluewater has a number of measure in place including weekly Autism friendly quiet hours, mobility vehicles for hire and free Hidden Disability Sunflower Lanyards
Purple Tuesday, the UK’s accessible shopping day, is taking place on 3rd November. This year, Bluewater is highlighting the measures currently in place to raise awareness of the needs of disabled customers.
Nearly one in five people in the UK have a disability or impairment, and there are very real (and perceived) barriers that make it harder to find work, spend money in store or online, and enjoy a drink or a meal out.
Committed to making sure that all guests feel welcome and have the best experience possible, Bluewater has implemented the following measures all year round:
- Over 300 disabled parking spaces in all car parks
- Disabled toilets located in all toilet areas, as well as a high dependency unit located in the lower Village
- Ability Plus, a mobility shop providing hire of mobility scooters, powerchairs and manual wheelchairs
- A partnership with AccessAble who provide essential, detailed information on accessibility that enables greater choice and independence for anyone with access requirements.
- Weekly Autism friendly quiet hours every Tuesday, between 4pm-6pm
- Hidden Disability Sunflower Lanyards
- Information leaflets given to all retailers
This year Bluewater will also be taking part in Purple Tuesday by hosting a number of initiatives
- Hidden disability lanyards
- Hosts will be wearing Purple sashes and masks
- In-mall screens promoting We Are Purple Awareness
- Dimming tannoy, music and lights.
As a sector partner, Landsec has taken part in Purple Tuesday since its inception, and last year many of its retail assets including Bluewater promoted inclusive shopping with a purple theme in their lighting as well as promotional items for customers, such as purple lanyards, flyers and T-shirts.
Robert Goodman, Senior Centre Director said “We are committed to making sure that all guests to Bluewater are able to have a positive and enjoyable experience. As such, we are really pleased to be involved with Purple Tuesday once more. We are constantly working to ensure that shopping at Bluewater is an inclusive experience for all and hope that our measures will raise awareness of the challenges that disabled customers can face.”
Since reopening, Bluewater has introduced a number of safety measures to keep shoppers safe including social distancing champions, hand sanitiser points throughout the centre, a one way system to ensure social distancing can be maintained, floor stickers and signs to remind guests to keep the required distance apart.