Church pleads for funds for accessible toilets

St Michael’s Church in Bray is looking for funding to make their toilets accessible to elderly and mobility restricted parishioners. Currently, elderly churchgoers and ‘anyone with restricted mobility has to sit tight or find alternative toilets in the village’ because the situation is so bad. The church’s warden is said to be embarrassed that elderly and disabled people cannot use their toilets and hopes that the funding comes soon.

The church’s facilities have been described by its own warden as ‘old and dilapidated’ and the uneven floor and lack of handrails mean that it is completely inaccessible for those who rely on stair lifts and mobility aids in their day to day life. With such a wide range of technology and developments in the industry now available, the range of choice of mobility aids available for such a centre is limitless as the warden hopes to bring the church’s facilities into the 21^st century and make it fully accessible to all.

Funding

The church recently saw its organ, stained glass and the stonework of its walls and tower restored following the five-year-long raising of £400,000. It is due to these much needed restorations that the church has been unable to update their toilet facilities as, although the church’s council has wanted to do so for several years, the restorations to the main building were thought to be a higher priority.

The refurbishment to make the toilets more accessible to mobility restricted churchgoers is thought to have to cost £130,000, as stated in this article, as a result of the uneven ground. This would mean that it would be an expensive project to undertake but one that would make the whole area accessible to not only regular Mass-goers but those who attend the weddings, baptisms and funerals held at the church.

While the church may not be fit for mobility restricted residents of the local area for some time while they await the funds needed for the refurbishment, Handicare’s electric rise and recliner chairs and range of mobility aids can make daily life more comfortable and accessible for residents in their own home.

Image Credit: Tim Green (flickr.com)