How to campaign!

Here are the top five tips for a good Changing Places Campaign

With thanks to Closomat, some useful guidance on how to run a successful Changing Places campaign, for those of you who would like to see a fully accessible public toilet facility in your area.

1. Be realistic

If you are going to be successful, you need to start by choosing a location that will be beneficial for many other people, as well as yourself. Think carefully – would it be best in a local shopping centre or park? Or perhaps a local tourist attraction, such as a National Trust property.
 

2. Aim high, but have a fallback plan

It costs an average of £18,000 and requires 12 square metres of space for a full Changing Places facility. This is a big investment, so it is sensible to think also of the minimum requirements you need – Changing Places diet-version, if you like! This might be a large-enough space; a static changing bench; perhaps a mobile hoist rather than a ceiling track. Shown here, below left, is the slimmed-down facility in Horsham, which was the successful outcome of a campaign led by Samantha Buck.
 

3. Harness people power

You are more likely to succeed in your Changing Places campaign if you can show that there is wide demand. Get in touch with local organisations who are likely to be supportive – for example, any local disability groups or special needs schools, as well as GP surgeries, local councillors and your MP. Changing Places are not yet as well-known as they should be.

There are various ways to let people know what you are aiming for:

• write a letter

• design a poster and ask local shops, library, Council offices, etc, to display it

• start a petition: it’s a great way to prove demand. Go local with a form on a clipboard in the High Street, or set one up online – www.change.org is the website (external link will open in a new browser window), and just follow the prompts

• talk about your plans! At the school gates, support groups, anywhere you come across people who might be interested
 

4. Get providers onside for your Changing Places campaign

A Changing Places is a big investment, so the organisation will need to justify it, whether they are the local council or a business. There are various approaches you can adopt:

• Appeal to their hearts: would they like to lie on a toilet floor, perhaps watched by other people using the washroom? You wouldn’t change a baby on a toilet floor, so why someone with a disability?

• Appeal to their wallet: the “purple pound” is the money spent by disabled visitors and their friends and families. By providing facilities that make their venue more attractive, they will bring in more users, and therefore increase spending on site. Those visitors will tell others they know, leading to even more people coming along.

• Highlight their legal obligations: Equality Act (which superceded the Disability Discrimination Act, DDA); BS8300:2009; Building Regulations Approved Document M 2013; Human Rights Act; Children & Families Act.

• Play to their ego: let them know about places that already have a Changing Places, such as Cadbury World, Wembley Stadium, the Trafford Centre, Morrisons (shown here), Tesco or IKEA. And they don’t have to be big organisations – Marwell Wildlife, Curve Theatre, Kirroughtree Visitor Centre, Northcroft Leisure Centre, Stoke Bus Station – all proud providers of fully accessible toilets.
 

5. Use the media

Social media is accessible to everyone, and a good way to raise awareness. Use Facebook and Twitter to write about the launch of your campaign, and make sure you post regularly (at least once a week) to keep up the impetus. If you have an online petition, don’t forget to include the link, so that it is easy for people to show their support.

Local media are always looking for news stories about their area, so get in touch with the local press, radio and TV, to explain what you are campaigning for, and why. Apart from hopefully publishing your story, they might just adopt it as their campaign, then you will benefit from their added weight in promoting the cause.
 

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Further reading and resources

Check out the official Changing Places Campaign website (it will open in a new browser window)

If you have successfully campaigned for a Changing Places, do you have any other tips and tricks? Do please share, if you have! You can add comments at the bottom of this page, or send an email if you prefer.

From January 2021, Changing Places are compulsory in large public places which are new builds or Undergoing substantial refurbishment.

 
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