What Does an Accessible Croydon Town Centre Look Like?

People with disabilities are often not consulted when it comes to decision making processes. How do people with disabilities and disability organisations experience Croydon Town Centre? How could the future of Croydon town centre’s spaces represent them better, including their needs & local knowledge?

The London Borough of Croydon has commissioned the Croydon Town Centre Regeneration Strategy (2023/24) in order to improve and plan the future of Croydon’s town centre.

As part of this plan, we want to bring together local disability organisations, stakeholders and representatives from Croydon Council to explore together what a truly accessible Croydon town centre looks like to those experiencing disabilities.

We’d love for you to join us over food to discuss with each other, collect ideas and also build on topics that were raised in the last access symposium organised by Drunken Chorus and Gig Buddies in 2021.

We will ask question such as:

• What do we value about the town centre?
• What barriers do we encounter as people with disabilities?
• What would we like to see in Croydon Town Centre’s future? What might we need to get there? How do we make sure access questions are implemented into strategic planning rather than add-ons?
• How can a proactive approach be secured? How can we make sure  people with disabilities are included in planning processes for buildings and spaces in the town centre?
• How to make sure changes are sustainable, funded, offer time and long term engagement?
• Who’s not in the room who needs to be?

Through round table discussions and smaller working groups we want to create a safe space for ideas and suggestions. The results of the workshop will be available through reports and documentation.

This workshop is one of a series of engagements exploring how to make Croydon town centre better. Led by urban design specialists We Made That and supported by local arts charity Turf Projects, the events will involve the community in the creation of a new strategy for the town centre which Croydon Council is planning in partnership with the GLA. The work is taking place from November 2023 until Spring 2024.

KEY ACCESS INFO:

• To help us support you best, please let us know if you have any access needs when booking.
• For access info about getting to Turf and the Turf space, click here.
• Food will be provided; please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

WORKSHOP CODE:

Turf aims to be a space where all are welcomed & respected. We ask all attendees to align with this spirit when booking and support us in creating a welcoming & collaborative atmosphere together. We ask that everyone is;

• Kind and respectful in our language and behaviour towards others. Turf is a space which is anti racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism.
• Considerate of others’ time; allowing others room to speak & engage.
• Respectful of the space itself as belonging to many people, treating the space & objects with care.
• Attend wherever possible: In 2023, around 30% of people booking free tickets didn’t turn up!  Our free tickets are limited and in high demand. Every person who doesn’t turn up means someone else can’t attend, so please let us know if you can’t make it to free up a space. If you don’t attend twice or more without letting us know, you may be restricted from booking again.