Accessibility

Shopmobility

Bristol Shopmobility is a charity that hires out mobility equipment to a wide range of users who need help with accessibility. Run by manager Kayleigh and staff member Linda, you will find it on the ground floor of the Cabot Circus car park.

 

Anyone with an impairment making access to Bristol Shopping Quarter’s shops difficult can use the service. It doesn’t matter whether that impairment is permanent or temporary.

The fleet includes manual and powered electric wheelchairs plus mobility scooters suitable for anyone up to 39 stones in weight. Also available are foldable scooters that fit into a car boot. Hire is by the hour between 10am and 4.30pm Monday to Saturday.

The service is available most bank holidays but not Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Easter Sunday. The hire charge is £2 per hour with a maximum daily charge of £6 for wheelchairs and £8 for scooters.

For people wishing to use a wheelchair or mobility scooter overnight, on holiday, or while recovering from an operation, longer term hire is available. The charge for this service is £6/£8 per day with a fully refundable deposit paid at the start of the hire period.

Users are advised to book by phone, to ensure a suitable vehicle is available. But manager Kayleigh and staff Jo and Linda will always try to help anyone who just drops in.

Vehicles can be delivered to homes within a 15 mile radius for longer term hire, although there is an additional charge for this and advance booking is essential. The team are also able to meet clients at the bus station or in the Broadmead area, staffing levels permitting, but this does require booking in advance.

There is a simple registration form plus a short assessment and training session for first-time users.

Clients must be aged 16 or over to use the powered equipment.

If you would like further information please telephone 01179 559083.

Users of the Bristol Shopmobility service enjoy up to five hours free parking in the Cabot Circus car park when they hire equipment.

For further information, call 0117 955 9083 or visit the Shopmobility website bristolshopmobility.co.uk or Facebook page facebook.com/BristolShopmobility.

Find their AccessAble guide at (external link will open in a new page) on AccessAble’s website.

ATMs

Shoppers will find many cash machines in Bristol Shopping Quarter and most are free to use. In Broadmead they are located at Sainsbury’s, Eurochange, and most major banks and building societies. There are more in The Galleries and Cabot Circus.

Talking ATMs, which allow partially sighted and blind customers to access the same services as everyone else, are available at Santander in Merchant Street.

Toilets

There are toilets for shoppers in Cabot Circus and The Galleries, including disabled toilets in The Galleries, where a radar key will be needed for access. If you require assistance, please phone 0117 9290569.

Changing Place

Changing Place toilets are designed for people who need additional space, equipment, time and assistance.

There is one available in Cabot Circus, more information changing-places.org

Information desk – Cabot Circus

The information desk has closed on 31 August and is being replaced by friendly Destination Hosts.

AccessAble guides

Find AccessAble guides to shops on the AccessAble website accessable.co.uk, search for Bristol.

Quiet Hour

The Entertainer store in Cabot Circus offers a quiet hour in the first hour of trade every day; the team keep the store music off, turn down the lighting (where possible) and turn their demos off to allow calmer shopping experience.

CeX offers a quiet hour during the first hour of trade on Sundays.

HSBC is running a daily quiet hour, between 14:00 and 15:00, in all of their UK branches. This is to support customers and families with conditions such as autism, dementia and ADHD. During quiet hour, there will be:

  • a designated quiet space, if you need it
  • a reduction of noise – HSBC UK radio will be switched off
  • increased awareness and support from staff

Oliver Bonas and their Quiet Time initiative provides a peaceful shopping environment, minimizing noise and lighting while respecting individual needs, every first hour of trade on Sundays.

Tesco Express offers quiet Hours for a calmer shopping experience on Wednesdays and Saturdays 9am-10am.

You can now book a neuro-friendly appointment at TUI, and they can offer the following:
Schedule your appointment during a quieter time
Reduce background music to create a calmer environment
Provide sunflower lanyards for you to use at the airport when you travel
Offer colouring activities to help you relax.
Currys also offers a Quiet hour, Monday to Friday until 11am. For the first hour of the day, they’re reducing noise in-store, keeping lights low and making sure there are no flashing screens.

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network

Currys have also joined the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network, to give customers a discreet way to signify that they have an invisible disability and may need some help and extra time. The Sunflower lanyards will be available for customers to pick up in any Currys store across the UK.
Yorkshire Building Society has joined the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower network, showing its support for customers and colleagues with non-visible disabilities. Branches will display “We Support the Sunflower” stickers and colleagues have taken part in training.