Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park has introduced a new Changing Places toilet, making the award-winning family attraction more accessible to visitors with disabilities.
Now open at the admissions area, adjacent to the main entrance toilet block, the fully-accessible facility provides visitors with a large accessible toilet for severely disabled people; a heigh-adjustable changing bench and washbasin; and a ceiling hoist.
All specialist equipment was provided by Astor Bannerman, an Andoversford-based business which has been designing and installing equipment for disabled people and their families for over 30 years – with everything installed at the Farm Park manufactured at its factory near Cheltenham.
The owner of the popular attraction, farmer and TV presenter Adam Henson, said: 'We aim to give every visitor the very best experience on a
day out at Cotswold Farm Park and with around 250,000 people in
the UK living with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spina bifada, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other conditions – including many hidden disabilities – which make using standard toilets, and even accessible toilets, impossible, we
are so pleased to be able to open a purpose-built area for visitors to be able
to use safely and with dignity.'
Cotswold Farm Park is passionate about providing an inclusive experience for all visitors, offering free carer tickets for disabled guests and wheelchairs to borrow. It has carefully-maintained concrete, gravelled and grassy walkways, which are all wide enough for wheelchair users - and the doorways to its shop and café are extra-wide and ramped, too.
There are also listening posts to help visually impaired guests make the most of its Rare Breeds Through History walkway and plenty of written information around the site to assist visitors with hearing impairments.
The new Changing Places facility has been built with grant funding, awarded to Cotswold Farm Park by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in association with Muscular Dystrophy UK and with the support of Cotswold District Council.
It's the 12th Changing Places toilet to be installed in Gloucestershire overall, with Cotswold Farm Park joining local attractions like Slimbridge Wetland Centre and Westonbirt Arboretum in making the county a more accessible place to visit.
For more information, or to plan your visit, see Cotswold Farm Park.
