PEOPLE with disabilities that prevent them from using standard disabled toilets are to benefit from state-of-the-art new facilities opening in Redditch’s Kingfisher Centre.
A ‘Changing Places’ facility has recently been completed in the centre, making it easier for disabled children and adults to enjoy a day out in the town.
The opening of the £127,000 facility is thanks to a successful funding partnership between the centre, Redditch Borough Council, and Redditch BID with £40,000 secured from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
Changing Places toilets are designed for people who cannot use standard disabled toilets, and come with additional accessibility equipment, such as hoists and adult sized changing benches.
The facility opened last Thursday (April 25) and will be accessible between 7am and 8.30pm each day.
Redditch’s successful bid to DLUHC was championed by local Paralympian Leanna Horne, and supported by Young Solutions, Myriad Centre, Spectrum Days, and Chadsgrove School, all of which work with disabled people in Redditch, as well as the Cultural Compact for North East Worcestershire.
Kingfisher Redditch’s general manager, Adrian Field, said: “We are delighted that through partnership working we have been able to open this new Changing Places facility in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.
“Working with the council and Redditch BID, alongside DULHC, has allowed us to make this important upgrade to the facilities we are able to offer our customers.”
In a 2021 study of disabled consumers, families and carers listed transport centres and country parks as amongst the top places these facilities should go, to be able to plan days out.
The Kingfisher Centre is central to Redditch, next to all the town’s major transport links, just a short distance from the Palace Theatre, and less than a mile from Arrow Valley County Park and its visitor attractions.
Local Para-Athlete, Leanna Horne, said: “To have a facility like this in the heart of the town is a major positive for the town.
“To be able to go for a day out in the centre, without having to worry if there will be suitable facilities available will allow lots of people like me, who need the extra assistance from a hoist etc to get out and enjoy what the town has to offer.”
