Welcome Message
Hello and welcome to Accessible News our new news website on accessibility in South Wales. My name is Richard Jones, and I am the Managing Director of Accessible Wales the disability consultancy company that pioneered this website. I was born with Brittle Bones, this however, is something that I have never let stand in my way. In 2001 I graduated with HND in Technology in Disability Studies from Bridgend College. The experience I gained through the course and my disability focused my attention on disability rights.
As a result I established Accessible Wales as a disability consultancy to help Welsh companies understand the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and other legislation. The aim is to help our clients meet the legal requirements by interpreting both Acts of Parliament and other regulations by practical application to their specific situation. In the Accessible Wales team there is a total of thirty four years of experience in this field and we bring to our clients support in the areas of Access, Disability Related Training, Employment, Housing and more.
This website will contain lots of disability related information but primarily will hold an index of accessible companies which are accessible to people with varying disabilities.
This website will be a landmark for the locality as it will be the first of its kind and promises to bring information relating to disability and accessibility to the people of the Cynon Valley. The idea of this website was born from a frustration felt for many years by Accessible Wales company owner Richard Jones, a 27 year old wheelchair user who has brittle bones. He noticed that it was often the case that people’s nights were being spoilt because of inaccessibility, lack of staff awareness or just plain ignorance.
In 2007 a local newspaper reported that a lady using a wheelchair went on a night out with family in Mountain Ash town. She could only get in one pub in the town centre because of steps and a lack of appropriate access. She ended up being stuck outside a pub and eventually had to go home. Had this website been open then she may have been able to find out where she could visit during the night out.
Accessible News does not vouch for the services of any of the companies advertising on this website. We merely carryout access assessments.
I would like to thank Wynne Williams, Cymru Healthcare (www.cymruhealthcare.co.uk), Peter Fear, Computa Shack (www.computashack.com) and especially Alun Evans, The Glancynon Inn (www.glancynoninn.co.uk) for their help in sponsoring the launch of this website.
I would also like to thank my team and those who have worked on the website, Rhian Moore, Gemma Price, Hayleigh Brookes, Jenna Parsons and a special thank you to Margaret. They have put a tremendous effort into this website and continually strive to improve the access in South Wales.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Jones
Website Editor
Mission Statement
Accessible News strives to help break down society's barriers that currently create a divide between people with and without impairments. This website's mission is to inform people of what is accessible in their local area - aiming to provide equality with regards to good access.
Accessible News Website Editor: Richard Jones