Isle of Wight open second facility

A Changing Places toilet has been included in new facilities at County Hall in Newport in which seven interview rooms have been installed giving privacy to those using them, while eight help booths are now available to the public seeking advice on council services.
The installation of the toilet, which is one of only two on the island, has been welcomed on a national level by the Changing Places Consortium and local disability organisations. Steve Beynon, Isle of Wight Council chief executive, said: "As part of the council's transformation scheme to reduce our building stock and bring more services into one central location, the reception area has been given a much-needed update.”

Changing Places campaigner Alan Davies said: “I have been lobbying the IoW Council for several years now. The initial result of this was the installation of a Changing Places in the Riverside Centre here on the Island. At the time I was the vice chair/secretary of the Wight Access Group. I have continued to raise awareness of these much needed facilities and am currently the lead for a small but dedicated group of people 'The Campaign for Changing Places on the Isle of Wight'. We have a Facebook group/page of the same name. We continue to raise awareness across all sectors, and in recent months have had positive feedback from ASDA and tourism/leisure venues here on the Island such as Fort Victoria in Freshwater.”

The Changing Places campaign calls for more Changing Places toilets in public places, so that people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and others who need extra support can access the same opportunities as everyone else.