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Kingston Council begin scheme to add more accessible facilities in the borough

Local News by Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter 28th Oct 2024  
Kingston Council pledges to spend £12,000 on making Kingston more accessible (Credit: Nub News)
Kingston Council pledges to spend £12,000 on making Kingston more accessible (Credit: Nub News)
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Three new toilets and changing blocks for people with disabilities will open in Kingston in a £120,000 scheme.

The facilities aim to improve accessibility in parks and at a community centre in Kingston.

Kingston Council approved its plans for the new 'changing places' toilets in October, which it put forward in three separate applications.

They will be installed in Latchmere Recreation Ground, Canbury Gardens and next to the Hook Centre.

People with a RADAR key, which allows disabled people to open locked accessible toilets, will be able to use them.

The toilets are bigger than standard disabled toilets to provide more space and equipment for people who need extra help.

They include features like a height-adjustable changing bench, accessible shower, hoist and support rails.

Campaign group Changing Places, which wants to see the toilets installed in all public venues, estimates that more than 250,000 people in the UK need the facilities to get out and about.

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The council decided to install the toilets in 2021 after residents reported needing more accessible public toilets in the borough.

It is using £120,000 from the government to carry out the works, while it will spend its own cash on cleaning and maintaining them.

In a statement earlier this year, the council said: "Three sites have been carefully chosen where they will benefit people, there is space for them, and they can be connected to water and power.

"The locations also meet government guidance and advice from Muscular Dystrophy UK."

It added: "We are continuing to look at wider public toilet provision in the borough and other locations for 'changing places' toilets which we could bid for funding for in the future."

The council is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to gain final sign off for the scheme.

A timeline for its completion will be confirmed in due course.

     

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