Accessibility must lie at the heart of how we think and work at Brighton & Hove City Council, both as a service provider and an employer. We'll evidence this through systemic change. 

This means looking at our policies, practices, procedures, and services and challenging ourselves with the following questions: 

‘Are our services proactively accessible and disability-inclusive?’‘What barriers are we creating, how are these impacting those we serve and what must we do to change and remove these barriers at their root?’‘Are we actively creating equitable voice, outcomes and value for disabled people who live, work and visit the city? If not, why not, and what needs to change?’‘Are we aware of the barriers that may exist for disabled people from diverse backgrounds and preventing and removing those barriers?’

There are good practices and engagement we can speak to, however, we also have significant work to do in terms of accessibility and disability inclusion.

Communities are rightly holding us to account. We need to work as one council and as individual services, alongside communities - not have our communities do all the work for us - to create an accessible city and council.

Councillors and staff alike realise that achieving the vision and the aims of this strategy will take some time which is why it's important to have a strategic approach setting out where we want to get to and how we plan to get there.

This is a continuing journey, and the strategy provides a foundation and a framework for the first 5 years of this journey. We'll keep it under review and expect it to become part of the operating principles of Brighton & Hove City Council for the foreseeable future.

Residents want to see action and change. So do we. We need a considered plan to achieve systemic change ensuring we truly understand accessibility and diverse disabled people’s requirements. In this way, inclusive, accessibility-informed practice is embedded in how we think, work, design and deliver services. We hope this strategy sets us on the right path.
- Councillor Leslie Pumm, Chair of Equality, Community Safety and Human Rights Committee.

Read the Accessible City Strategy

Read our Accessible City Strategy and Accessible City Strategy Priority Actions.

The language we use in the Accessible City Strategy

We use some key terminology in the Accessible City Strategy to support the development of an accessible city. Discussions will continue to take place throughout the lifespan of this strategy to ensure language is kept up to date. Any terminology used in this strategy will be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as necessary.

Brighton & Hove City Council works with and listens to the opinions of our disabled staff, residents, and community groups to understand the language to use when talking about disability and access requirements. We also look to the national and international evolution of disability-related language.

Terminology and language are dynamic and continuously evolving. We're committed to continuing our learning and evolving as language changes over time.

We're using the terms ‘disabled person’, ‘disabled people’, or ‘a person with access requirements’ as generic terms to recognise the different views, preferences, and attitudes that residents and communities hold.

We acknowledge that disabilities are non-visible (including mental health problems) and visible.

We're aware that some people and communities do not identify as disabled, however, they experience barriers to our services because we have not considered or are unable to meet their access requirements, for example, D/deaf residents. This is recognised in our use of the social model of disability and the cultural model of Deafness. 

We commit to becoming more aware and nuanced in the use of terminology related to disabled people and those who experience access barriers to council services.

We understand that views differ and not all people will feel comfortable with the same language. We recognise the right to self-identification.

To find out more you can:

Accessible city definition

An accessible city is one where people with access requirements, who live, work, and visit the city, have, independent, inclusive, and barrier-free access to:

  • council services
  • the city’s public spaces and areas
  • facilities
  • transport
  • retail
  • leisure infrastructure
  • learning opportunities
  • support networks
  • health, safety, and care provisions

The Accessible City Strategy impacts all areas of city life such as: 

  • social and economic engagement
  • access to health, wellbeing, and social care
  • independent living
  • the built environment
  • safe and accessible public spaces and facilities
  • housing and its suitability for people’s access requirements
  • access to work opportunities, training, and education
  • public services and facilities
  • access to involvement in decision-making and participation in all aspects of city life