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Beach wheelchairs launched as the East Lindsey coast becomes more accessible

The introduction of the beach wheelchairs supports a series of improvement works along the coast as part of a wide-ranging programme by East Lindsey District Council, aimed at ensuring anyone living or visiting is not excluded from taking part in activities because of their level of ability.

Wheelchair users often find it difficult to access the sands because their wheels sink in but now, thanks to the East Coast Local Action Group, who secured £8424 of funding from Awards For All, people who use wheelchairs can get on the beach when they want to.

East Lindsey District Council will host the wheelchairs and hire them out on behalf of the East Coast Local Action Group. The four beach wheelchairs are located along our coastline in Mablethorpe, Skegness and Sutton on Sea, enabling more people to enjoy our Blue Flag Award winning beaches.

Throughout the year, two of the beach wheelchairs will be available from the Embassy Theatre in Skegness, one from the chalet office in Mablethorpe until September 24, then from Seacroft Mobility in the town when the chalet office closes; and one from the Sutton on Sea Chalet Office. The beach wheelchairs will be loaned out each day for a £20 returnable deposit. Seacroft Mobility has also kindly offered to service the beach wheelchairs twice per year free of charge.

Portfolio Holder for accessibility improvements at the District Council, Councillor Colin Davie, said the beach wheelchairs are an important addition to the ongoing accessibility and improvement programme along the coast: "The beach wheelchair project has been driven forward by the East Coast Local Action Group, for which we are grateful. We have to make our District and facilities accessible to as many people as possible and we’ve invested heavily in improvements to try and ensure the best we can that no-one is excluded because of their ability. The beach wheelchairs are designed to be used on soft terrain where ordinary wheelchairs would sink into the surface, this makes them ideal for the beach and will enable users to not only access the beach but also go into the water."

Through Skegness’ Town Centre Partnership, led by the District Council’s Town Centre Manager, Stefan Krause, accessibility works have been continuing to remove sand from the promenades in the resort. There has been an ongoing issue with sand blowing onto the pathways and with support from volunteers and the HOPE organisation, a programme of sand clearance works in now in place, which will also make our coast more accessible.

Further improvement works have also been carried out at the Embassy Swimming Pool and Fitness Suite in Skegness and Station Sports Centre in Mablethorpe to make both venues more accessible to customers and to encourage people with disabilities to take part in sports and leisure activities.

The improvement works at the Embassy Swimming Pool and Fitness Suite include the introduction of a range of adaptable fitness equipment that can be used by a broader range of customers with different abilities. A Changing Places toilet has also been installed, similar to the one installed on Briar Way in the town that opened in 2008. It includes a changing bed and a hoist system to help people into their wheelchair. Staff at the Pool have also completed a Disability Equality Training programme to help them better understand the needs of customers with disabilities both in terms of how they use equipment and the layout of the fitness suite equipment and signage.  As a result of these improvements, the Embassy Swimming Pool and Fitness Suite has now achieved Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) status, a nationally recognised accreditation that means the team is up there with the best in the country. In 2009 the Embassy Swimming Pool and Fitness Suite achieved the Quest Accreditation in recognition of the District Council’s commitment to continually improving the service it provides to customers there.

Station Sports Centre in Mablethorpe has seen a number of improvement works to its facilities. The £5,000 of works carried out by the District Council at the facility includes improved signage; grab rails in toilets, a new lower level reception counter; an automatic entrance door; and an emergency cord in the accessible toilet.

Cllr Davie, continued: "By providing high quality leisure facilities that are accessible, we are helping and encouraging the people of East Lindsey to improve their health. We must continue to improve the quality of the facilities we offer to our residents, whilst all the time exploring how we can make them more accessible."

For further details about the improvement works contact the District Council on 01507 601111.

For more information about the East Coast Local Action Group telephone on 01754 765206