Charity partnerships to provide more accessible works
10/4/2021
Yorkshire Water has partnered with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Disability Action Yorkshire to provide accessibility training to its Streetworks team and service partners, Network Plus and Morrison Water Services.
The utility company is hosting the training sessions for more than 500 staff, in order to ensure that street works are safe & accessible to all pedestrians.
The training will see the RNIB and Disability Action Yorkshire help deliver workshops that explain conditions, experiences and needs associated with navigating signage, lighting and guarding at sites where Yorkshire Water are carrying out repairs to its water and waste networks.
Alistair Gavins, streetworks strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We try to consider all of our customers when setting up streetworks, but we understand that some customers will find them harder to safely navigate than others. The new training will educate our contract partners on how blind people, wheelchair users, and people with other disabilities may experience the street works, so that we can implement a more accessible approach.”
Robin Spinks, strategic lead for innovation partnerships at RNIB, said: “When you are blind or partially sighted, it can be daunting to be faced with unexpected street works when you come out your house or walk down a familiar street.
“We’re delighted to be working with Yorkshire Water on this accessibility training and urge more companies to consider how they can support blind and partially sighted people to successfully navigate street works with confidence.”
Josh McCormack, think access co-ordinator at Disability Action Yorkshire, said: “We are delighted that Yorkshire Water are taking accessibility with regards their street works so seriously and are really pleased to be part of the team delivering the workshops for staff. It is so important that every member of the public can move safely around essential works and this initiative will certainly help this.”