National Trust
A warmer welcome Until recently, the National Trust has had a reputation for focusing more on safeguarding heritage properties than opening them to the mercy of the public. But this image of exclusivity is being eroded, with one particular focus being the involvement of local disabled volunteers. Dr Heather Smith, Head of Access for All at the National Trust, explains At the start of this year, the National Trust launched its strategy for 2010 and beyond. Named Going local: Fresh tracks down old roads, it aims to live up to the Trust’s founding principle: to open up inspirational places ‘for the everlasting delight of the people’, to build stronger relationships between people and places, and to reach every household. What does this bold ambition mean in terms of making the Trust more accessible? As reported in Access by Design issue 111 (Summer 2007), prior to this strategy the Trust had already put in place policies aimed at improving the experience of property visits for disabled people. In terms of admission, personal assistants are eligible for free admission to all Trust properties through the ‘Admit One’ scheme. The Links Pass, one of whose beneficiary groups is disabled people associated with disability charities, allows half-price admission. A comprehensive Access Guide is produced annually detailing particular access facilities at properties; this information is also available on the website, which itself is being redeveloped with the involvement of disabled people. The work of the Trust in improving access has contributed to its success in winning awards, such as the Hearing Dog Friendly Award in 2007 and the Jodi Award 2009 for excellence in accessible digital media.
Branching out While such activities have successfully involved disabled people and disabled people’s organisations at the national level, more connections need to be made at the local level if the aims of the strategy are to be achieved. For many years, the Trust has been operating an access audit programme for its mansion and garden properties carried out by independent
access consultants who are either disabled themselves or who are accompanied by disabled people. These audits include assessing the information available before the visit, getting to the property and following the visitor journey around the site. Recommendations from the audits are prioritised and added to each property’s management plan to be actioned: while some are quick and easy to complete, others take more time and require further discussion before they can be developed. Property staff discuss the findings of the report with the auditors and also with the Trust’s central Access for All team to increase their awareness of why certain recommendations have been made.
Consulting disabled people Opportunities to discuss improvements directly with disabled people form another integral part of improving access. This type of consultation has been particularly influential in the development of an assessment process for outdoor sites. The process was developed through a series of workshops, led by the Sensory Trust and disabled people representing other charities, and attended by countryside staff. The workshops demonstrated the value of meeting with disabled people and taking a visit round a site together; many have since organised visits to their own sites to discuss access improvements in specific areas. In addition to the workshops, a programme of disability-awareness training is also available for staff and volunteers. This training is delivered by disabled people bringing their personal experience to the training sessions, discussing the importance of making access improvements to historic properties and the variety of requirements that people may have. The auditing and training are national programmes that require local support and
Issue 124 Access by Design
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