A CAMPAIGN has been launched to provide accessible toilets for the disabled in a new town centre development.

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

‘Changing Places, Changing Lives’ is a national campaign calling for Changing Places toilets.

They involve having toilets with a hoist, a changing bench and plenty of space to be installed in larger public places throughout the country.

The campaign says that standard accessible toilets do not meet the needs of many thousands of disabled people in the UK.

Without Changing Places toilets, carers are often forced to change severely disabled family members on a dirty toilet floor.

This is dangerous, it can be very unhygienic and is undignified.

But the alternative is to limit outings to a couple of hours or to just not go out at all.

Changing Places toilets are needed by people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and others who have a disability or condition that means they need personal support to manage their continence.

This includes people who have had a severe stroke and people with muscular dystrophy.

Iain Speed, managing director of Bordon 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.

Su Wilson is a parent and a wheelchair user.

She 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.”

Anyone wanting to support the Whitehill and Bordon Changing Places campaign or get more involved in the town’s disability action group should e-mail: [email protected].

Alternatively, call 07467 941003 and ask to speak to Claire Coxwell.

For further information, the group has a Facebook group which can be found at: www.facebook.com/groups/WhitehillBordonDisability Action