Hill Farm & Orchard Glamping Join The Fair4All Card Scheme

Our first visitor attraction joins the Fair4All Card scheme to make glamping easier for disabled people.

Susan Nash, Owner of Hill Farm & Orchard Glamping joined BuDS HR & Project Manager, Janneke Elford to mark the occasion.

The Fair4All Card is a photocard for disabled people in Buckinghamshire to make accessibility easier and help businesses understand how best to help their disabled customers. Charity Buckinghamshire Disability Service, who are behind the scheme, say that disabled people face barriers to being able to enjoy visitor attractions like everyone else, such as businesses run or designed in ways that don’t suit disabled people and staff not understanding how best to help disabled customers.

The Fair4All Card is designed to make life easier for genuine disabled people and business staff. If a person presents the Fair4All photocard, staff can be sure the holder is a genuine disabled person and one look at the back of the card will show how best to help the disabled customer. No medical details are shown on the Card to protect people’s privacy. (See images of Card below)

Susan Nash, Owner at Hill Farm & Orchard Glamping, said:

“We were keen to get involved with BUDS to find out how we could review our business in terms of accessibility. The training delivered by BUDS also highlighted areas where we are already offering an inclusive holiday experience for those with different accessibility needs. Working with BUDS allowed us the opportunity to look at accessibility on the customer journey from the booking process through to holidaying in our wigwam cabins.”

Andrew Clark, Chair of Trustees at BuDS, said:

“The Fair4All Card is a simple, easy way for disabled people to get the support they need and for shops, businesses and services to know how best to help. All the disabled person has to do is show the Card and all the shop, business or service has to do is look at the back of the Card to know how best to help. No fuss, no drama, just a happy customer and a happy business”
“Because the Fair4All Card is a photocard issued only to disabled people who can show evidence to prove that they meet the legal test of disability, shops, businesses and services can be sure that anyone presenting the Card is genuinely in need of support”.

BuDS says that working with supermarkets, businesses and services to help them recognise the Card and understand how to help disabled customers will be a key part of the scheme. Free training, support and accessibility advice is available for every business who joins the scheme, and free window stickers, posters and other material is also supplied.

Cary Hobbs, the Fair4All Card Coordinator, said:

“We have had a great positive response from local visitor attractions following an accessibility project run alongside Bucks Business First. But people can use their Fair4All Card anywhere – they are already being used as far afield as London and Wales!”

Janneke Elford, the Fair4All Card project manager, added:

“We invite all disabled people in Bucks to now apply for the Fair4All Card, and for local businesses to get in touch about accessibility training and becoming a Partner. You can do this by visiting https://fair4all.org.uk/ or leave a message at 01494 211179”.

The Fair4All Card is supported by Philippa Batting, Managing Director of Bucks Business First, former Aylesbury Town Centre manager, Diana Fawcett, and the former Mayor of Aylesbury, Cllr Mike Smith, who have all recorded videos backing the scheme. Funding has generously been provided by grants from Aylesbury Town Council, the National Lottery Community Fund and the Rothschild Foundation.

Contact:

Andrew Clark, andrewc@buds.org.uk, 07811 142935

Notes

BuDS is Buckinghamshire’s only independent pan-disability charity. Run by disabled people, it works to improve the lives of all disabled people by fixing the big problems that they encounter, such as bad accessibility, poor services, wrong attitudes or inadequate help.