Purple Tuesday set for Lakeside Village

Lakeside Village is reinforcing its commitment to accessible shopping by supporting a special awareness day on Tuesday 3 November.
For the third year running, ‘Purple Tuesday’ will see the stores at Lakeside Village join in with retailers across the country to promote existing measures that make the shopping experience more inclusive for disabled customers.
The initiative is being co-ordinated by the disability organisation Purple and has been endorsed by the government.
Di Rodgers, centre manager at Lakeside Village, said: “We are proud of the work we have done here at Lakeside Village to make our centre as accessible and inclusive as possible for all our customers so we are pleased to be able to take part in this day dedicated to accessible shopping.
“We try very hard to provide a range of facilities to meet the needs of our shoppers. This includes a weekly Autism hour on a Saturday morning where we provide a calmer and quieter shopping experience, a Changing places facility, disabled toilets, a quiet room for shoppers who need a little time out as well as having the Deaf Aware Seal of Approval.
“We also have ample disabled parking and free loan of wheelchairs for our customers and the centre is easy access with no lifts or stairs throughout.
“However, we don’t want to rest on our laurels and will be using the day to talk to our customers with disabilities to find out what else we can put in place to make sure that our centre is as inclusive as possible.”
The aim of Purple Tuesday is to make customer-facing businesses more aware of the opportunities and challenges and inspire them to make changes to improve the disabled customer experience over the long term.