THE Whitehill and Bordon Disability Action Group has launched a campaign to ensure that at least two Changing Places accessible toilets are provided in the new town centre development.

Changing Places, Changing Lives is a national campaign calling for toilets with a hoist, a changing bench and plenty of space to be installed in larger public places throughout the UK.

According to the Whitehill and Bordon Disability Action Group, standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of many thousands of disabled people. Without Changing Places toilets, carers are often forced to change severely disabled family members on “a dirty toilet floor”, the group said.

“This is dangerous, unhygienic and undignified,” the Disability Action Group continued in a statement. “However, the alternative is to limit outings to a couple of hours or not to go out at all.”

Iain Speed, managing director of local business All Inclusive and committee member of the Whitehill and Bordon Disability Action Group, is leading the campaign.

“The new development in Whitehill and Bordon offers a real opportunity for the town to become a place of excellence for all those with access issues,” he said. Local parent and wheelchair user Su Wilson said: “Having a Changing Places facility available means that, as a family, we have the freedom to go out and about enjoying and experiencing things longer without worrying about time. Without these facilities, it limits my time away from my house and impacts on our enjoyment.”

* To support the Whitehill and Bordon Changing Places campaign, or get more involved in the town’s new disability action group, e-mail wbdisability

[email protected] or call 07467 941003 and speak to Claire Coxwell.