Unique Access Guide Set to Launch

A unique new guide, designed to empower Hull's thousands of disabled residents to get out and do what they want to do, is set to launch. Put together thanks to sponsorship from Hull City Council and Marks and Spencer, DisabledGo-Hull will open up this area to residents and visitors.

DisabledGo and Hull City Council have worked with hundreds of shops, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and other public venues across the district, so that DisabledGo-Hull can provide access details for these goods and service providers. This information can make a huge difference for people with hearing, vision or mobility related access concerns. The guide may also be useful for older people and those with pushchairs.

By logging on to www.DisabledGo.info people can check, for example, whether a pub is accessible to a wheelchair user, whether a cinema can offer a hearing loop, whether a hotel offers adapted rooms, and whether a restaurant offers menus in large print or Braille.

The guide will also enable Hull's business and service providers to contact the huge number of customers who have access concerns.

According to government figures there are 11 million disabled people in the UK with an annual spending power of £80 billion. This guide will help local businesses to reach new customers among Hull's residents and visitors.

Commenting in advance of the launch the founder of DisabledGo, wheelchair user Dr. Gregory Burke said, The constant need to write or telephone to enquire about access really affects people's confidence to get out and do what they want to do. Never knowing whether a building will be accessible or whether staff will have a helpful attitude makes you think twice before going out. DisabledGo ends that uncertainty by providing detailed access information and enabling people to judge for themselves whether a shop, restaurant or theatre is accessible for their own requirements.

E J Walker, Programme Manager, Marks and Spencer added; At Marks & Spencer, we are keen to improve access for all our customers to our products and services. We believe that the DisabledGo website provides comprehensive information, which answers a real need, and will make a genuine difference to disabled people's daily lives. It's great that we can support this service here in Hull and in other areas across the UK.

Dr. Gregory Burke concluded: Disabled people are no small minority. One in six of the British population is disabled and disabled people have an annual spend of £80 billion. Those are numbers that any business or service provider should take seriously. I'm immensely grateful to Marks & Spencer and Hull City Council for the support they have given us, and I hope that this guide will open up all that Hull City has to offer to everyone.

DisabledGo is a social enterprise established to empower disabled people. Founded by wheelchair user, Dr. Gregory Burke, DisabledGo provides detailed access information to UK towns and cities, including Leeds, Wakefield, Liverpool and York

Dr. Burke, who recently featured on BBC Breakfast founded DisabledGo from his personal experiences as a wheelchair user. It is hoped that the comprehensive information provided to 1,000 venues across Hull will empower residents and visitors to access all Hull has to offer. For more information please contact Anna Borthwick, Partnership Manager, DisabledGo. T: 01438 842 716 E: Anna.Borthwick@DisabledGo.info.

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