Dolphin Shopping Centre announces its support for ‘Purple Tuesday,’ the UK’s first accessible shopping day

Purple Tuesday is the UK’s first ever accessible shopping day, aimed at getting retailers to take all kinds of disability seriously, as well as recognise the importance and needs of disabled consumers and promote inclusive shopping.

On this allocated day, The Dolphin will dim the lights in the centre and the music will also be turned off. The shopping centre’s customer service guest host will also be in the mall to offer additional assistance to customers that require it.

According to disability organisation, Purple, nearly one in every five people in the UK has a disability or impairment and over half of households in the UK have a connection to someone with a disability. The initiative is being co-ordinated by Purple, with leading brands Marks & Spencer, Asda and Sainsbury’s all pledging their support already.

Earlier this year, the Dolphin Shopping Centre opened new state-of-the-art ‘Changing Places’ toilets, which have new facilities to aid those with disabilities. These include a ceiling track hoist and a height-adjustable, adult-sized changing bench.

John Grinnell, centre manager at the Dolphin Shopping Centre, commented, “We’re pleased to be signed up to support Purple Tuesday, alongside numerous other shopping centres across the country. We want to help make shopping more inclusive and enhance our accessibility.

“We have received such great feedback throughout the year for our new and improved toilets and the ‘Changing Places’ facilities in particular. We want people with disabilities and their carers to have confidence that there are suitable facilities close by whenever they are shopping with us.”

Sharon Moore, administrator at Poole Parent Carer Forum, said, “When we visited the new and improved toilets at the Dolphin, we were really impressed. We care for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities up to the age of 25 years and these are some of the best facilities we have seen in a long time.”