The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a grant of £527,000 to the Heritage Ability scheme, which involves a huge variety of much-loved places.

Five places in Cornwall are taking part: Geevor Tin Mine, National Maritime Museum Cornwall (pictured), National Trust Godolphin, National Trust Tin Coast and Wheal Martyn Museum.

In 2016, disability charity Living Options carried out a range of consultation activities to build a greater understanding of the barriers experienced by disabled and deaf people when visiting heritage sites.

The consultation included focus groups, surveys and mystery visits, consistently highlighting the same key barriers: poor physical access; lack of disability and deaf awareness; lack of accessible interpretation; lack of information about access and lack of facilities for people with disabilities and deaf people. 

The charity, which has worked for 25 years to empower people with disabilities, is setting out to change that and has already teamed up with 18 heritage sites across the South West.

Led by a team of disabled and deaf volunteers and advisors, the project includes improving access for people with physical disabilities, establishing British Sign Language as part of each sites’ interpretation and making adaptations to improve experiences for those with autism.