Beach Access Team (BAT), a local charity, have teamed up with Brighton and Hove City Council to launch a community event which will take place at the end of the month. BAT are a small group of volunteers who are campaigning to make Brighton and Hove beaches fully accessible. Featured Image © Big Bear Photography
Image © Claire Nelson
The event aims to appeal to local people from all demographics; people with access issues or without are invited to share their voice, in order to shape the future of the accessibility of the beaches along the Sussex coast. The drop-in event will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of our pebbled beaches. The organisers are stressing the importance of making the project ‘user-led.’ Claire Nelson, the voice of BAT, said, “It would be amazing if Brighton could be an example to other places with beaches. It’s lacking across the country. We’re always an afterthought. The whole reason behind the campaign is putting it at the forefront of people’s minds when new things are being developed. It’s about equality, people having access to everywhere.”
Image © Daily Express
Co-hosting the event with the council should help to improve the service which is currently on offer for wheelchair users. The Seafront Office has just two all-terrain beach wheelchairs for hire at any one time. Bookings must be made a week in advance and slots are limited to two hours. During the summer months this service is understandably in high-demand and an improvement on this will be a priority for BAT. Without access to these all-terrain aids it can take up to six able-bodied people to help a wheelchair user enjoy the shingle-covered shoreline.
Image © visitbrighton
Councillor Alan Robins, who chairs the council’s new Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee, added to the sentiments of Miss Nelson, “It is the terrain that’s beating us – the pebbles. It’s steep. Whatever you put down after a storm, it gets covered with two or three tonnes of pebbles.” Mr Robins has also encouraged students from our two universities to design innovative solutions to the problem of beach access. The open day will be held at the Brighton Centre and will take place on Sunday, August 25th, from midday. More details can be found on BAT’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/events/2477424415641300.
