Rishi has opened a Changing Places toilet for severely disabled people in Leyburn – part funded by a Government grant scheme he set up.
The MP cut a ribbon to formally declare the toilet – in the town’s main car park – open.
The new Leyburn facility was made possible by the town council and local businesswoman Diane Howarth who are working on a wider project – Creating Accessible Leyburn – to make the town more accessible for all disabled people.
They accessed a £30.5m grant scheme to help fund Changing Places toilets Rishi established when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2021.
Changing Places toilets are larger than standard disabled toilets and have extra equipment like adult-sized changing benches and hoists to assist a severely disabled person’s carers.
Rishi said the toilet was designed for people with complex care needs who cannot use a standard ‘disabled toilet’ and are usually accompanied by one or more carers.
He said he was first made aware of the lack of changing facilities for the severely disabled when visiting the Dales School at Morton on Swale in 2018. Parents told him of the indignities and the health and safety issues they faced when trying to change their loved ones on a toilet floor.
The lack of adequate Changing Places toilets meant many families found it impossible to plan the simplest day away from home.
Rishi said: “I am gratified to see a Changing Places toilet in Leyburn part-funded by the scheme I was proud to establish when in Government. I applaud the work of Diane and the town council in bringing it together and their wider efforts to make Leyburn a better place for the disabled to live and visit.”
Mrs Howarth, who owns a local award-winning holiday cottage business which includes an accessible cottage, said: “This facility is designed for people with complex care needs who cannot use a standard ‘disabled toilet’ and are usually accompanied by one or more carers.
“Without a Changing Places toilet, the disabled person is put at risk, and families are forced to risk their own health and safety by changing their loved one on a toilet floor. This is dangerous, unhygienic and undignified.
Accessibility Consultant Gillian Scotford of AccessibleUK was among the project partners who attended the opening. She said: “As a mum of three children, two with severe disabilities, I know how a day out or holiday must be carefully planned.
“My son Thomas, who died in 2017, needed Changing Places toilets, but in his 21 years we never had an opportunity to use one, because there was very few in the country.
“In 2021, Rishi, then Chancellor, announced over £30m funding to deliver more Changing Places Toilets across the UK.
“I remember the day the news broke, and it made me cry. It was the first time any Government Minister had given understanding, empathy and recognition to the struggles faced by so many families with loved ones with complex needs, whose toileting needs cannot be met with a standard accessible toilet. The opening of Changing Places Toilets is a huge step in boosting accessible tourism.”
Mrs Howarth, who runs an award-winning holiday cottage business in Bishopdale, near Leyburn, said she first discussed the Accessible Leyburn project with the town council in 2021.
Formally launched this spring, the project aims to improve accessibility in Leyburn for the local community and visitors, not just for wheelchair users, but for a range of physical and hidden disabilities, elderly, children and of all ages.
As well as delivering the Changing Places toilet, the project is carrying out an audit of the public realm, the facilities, businesses and attractions in Leyburn, to communicate what is accessible across the town, thereby enabling visitors and the community to make an informed decision as to where they can visit.
Another element of the project has been the inclusion of accessible equipment in the recent refurbishment of The Shawl’s play area.
The Accessible Leyburn project is being funded by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Government-funded and North Yorkshire Council-administered UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the UK Lottery Fund and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.
