Inclusivity event aims to make Bury St Edmunds more accessible
Community leaders in Bury St Edmunds have joined forces with businesses to work towards making the town even more accessible to the less able and those living with dementia or disabilities.
An Inclusivity Community Conference was hosted at St Edmundsbury Cathedral supported by the Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID).
A number of organisations from the health and social care sector including Leading Lives and Community Catalysts took part and delegates also included the town’s MP Peter Prinsley and town council chair Diane Hind.
The conference organisers included Sue Hughes DL and Canon Pastor and Sub Dean at the Cathedral the Rev Canon Matthew Vernon with input from Suffolk County Council’s Adult and Community Services department.
Rev Canon Vernon saidd: “Although there are already legal requirements in place to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities, this initiative is looking at going much further than that wherever possible. We are looking at encouraging better understanding of a range of conditions and disabilities to ensure everyone feels welcome.
“Engaging with professionals in the health and care sector and seeking their expert advice is a first step and it’s also important to remember that not every disability is immediately apparent but being able to offer a helping hand or a little more time can make a big difference.”
Work has already started in some areas of the town centre to improve inclusivity.
In February this year Our Bury St Edmunds BID worked with local provider Three Eggs Training to offer a workshop for town centre businesses to better understand neurodiversity and so provide a better experience for customers who are not neuro-typical. The BID has also previously worked with Suffolk MIND to offer workplace mental health support following the pandemic.
Chief executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, Mark Cordell, said: “One of the key objectives of the BID is to increase the numbers of people visiting our town centre and I hope that by working together we can all have a greater understanding of what we can do to make people with disabilities or different needs feel more confident and comfortable about coming into Bury St Edmunds.
“By making positive changes there is an opportunity for new customers to come here and feel welcome which is what the BID and our business members want.”
The conference agreed to promote inclusive and accessible businesses with a logo and window sticker which will feature the rose of St Edmund.
Details of the requirements to be met in order to join the initiative will be announced in due course.