A more inclusive church entrance at Broughton

Rev Canon Fleur Green at the parish of Broughton saw the information about the Disability Project Parish Grant Scheme, circulated in her diocese of Blackburn by Disability Adviser Joy Rushton, and immediately saw an opportunity to set something right, and improve access even in just a small way, in St John Baptist.

She explains the situation in the application,

“We have at the back of our church 5 stone steps which lead to the main door of the church. These steps are steep and cause a physical barrier to those who struggle with mobility of using the main west door of the church. This means we mainly use the side door for entry into church which has a ramp.

"The main door is used on Sundays for the procession into and out of church, as well as at occasional offices such as funerals and weddings and when we have ‘big’ services in church for example on Remembrance Day.

"At present we have no handrails to assist people up and down the steps which excludes them on these occasions. Due to the gradient of the steps and their width it would not be feasible to have a ramp fitted, either straight or zig-zag style.

"By fitting the handrails we would be able to use the main door of church on these occasions and enhance the health and safety aspect of entering and leaving church that way. We acknowledge that it does not mean everyone will be able to enter church this way but it goes a long way to providing better and safer access to the building now and in the future.”

There was a particular church member, attending regularly and serving on one of the helper teams, who had expressed concerns about his own safety when using these steps. There was clearly a need to ensure that he, and others with similar access needs, were safeguarded effectively in the immediate future.

The Grants Panel agreed that this was a worthwhile project, as not every improvement to accessibility is a large reordering scheme. Those who are ambulant with limited mobility would be helped by this project, and the parish had clearly considered the situation as a whole.

The grant was awarded and two beautiful handrails were fitted, allowing use by people with both right-arm and left-arm strength.

And the result? Fleur writes in her end report:

“Already we have see an improvement in people being able to access church in this way and it has made it much more inclusive as people can enter church together, as well as the safety aspect of people being able to get up and down steps.  Having the rails in place will mean that we can open the church more regularly and provide access to the tower for those who otherwise would not be able to explore that part of church.”