White Rose Shopping Centre appoints Halifax's paralypic champion Hannah Cockroft as its accessibility ambassador

The White Rose Shopping Centre has announced that the T34 Paralympic wheelchair race has been appointed as its accessibility ambassador to coincide with this year’s Purple Tuesday.

As Accessibility Ambassador she’ll be working alongside the team at the Shopping Centre to discuss, brainstorm and plan ways in which the centre can improve their accessibility even further.

Purple Tuesday, the UK’s accessible shopping day, is taking place on November 3. This year, White Rose is highlighting the measures currently in place to raise awareness of the needs of disabled customers.

“ I am delighted to be working with White Rose as their Accessibility Ambassador. I love coming to the Shopping Centre as it's a total breeze to get around, and you can tell that they care about the accessibility needs of their shoppers," said Hannah.

"I can’t wait to start working with the team and come with ideas to improve accessibility even further, so that every customer visiting White Rose has an enjoyable experience.”

Nearly one in five people in the UK have a disability or impairment, and there are very real (and perceived) barriers that make it harder to find work, spend money in store or online, and enjoy a drink or a meal out.

Committed to making sure that all visitors feel welcome and have the best experience possible, White Rose has implemented the following measures all year round:

Free hidden disability lanyards to signify that additional help may be required by the wearer. Anyone with a ‘hidden disability’ is invited to wear the lanyards, which can be picked up free of charge during White Rose’s drop in session or from Customer Services

Autism guides to White Rose

Changing Places facility fitted with specialist equipment such as a hoist and changing bench and provides enough space for up to 2 carers to assist the person with disability

Quiet room facility

A free shopmobility service providing visitors with free hire of an electric scooter, powered wheelchair or manual wheelchair

Disabled parking bays in every car park

Quiet hours every Tuesday morning from 10am until midday

Sensory toys for those needing some time out

This year White Rose will also be taking part in Purple Tuesday by hosting a drop-in area in the Central Atrium 10am-6pm, inviting visitors to stop by and provide their feedback and thoughts on accessibility at White Rose.

Steven Foster, Centre Director said “We are committed to making sure that all visitors to White Rose are able to have a positive and enjoyable experience so we’re really delighted to be involved with Purple Tuesday again this year. We are constantly working to ensure that shopping at White Rose is an inclusive experience for all and hope that our measures will raise awareness of the challenges that disabled customers can face when out shopping. ”

Since reopening non-essential retail in June, White Rose has introduced a number of safety measures to reassure shoppers including hand sanitiser points throughout the centre, a one way system to ensure social distancing can be maintained, floor stickers and signs to remind guests to keep the required distance apart and a queuing system for entry to the centre.