Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s website has won a prestigious award for its commitment to making information accessible to the disabled, sight impaired and people with learning and reading difficulties.
The Council has become one of just a handful of local authorities in the country to win the Royal National Institute for the Blind logo for web accessibility.
The website boasts a wide range of features designed to help people with various disabilities and impairments.
Councillor Julian Ellacott, Executive Member for Partnership, said: “When we re-launched the website we made it a priority to ensure that the site was accessible to everyone.
“We invested a huge amount of effort because we believe that the site is for all the people in the Borough, old or young, able-bodied or disabled, those with good vision and those who have sight-impairments.
“Since the re-launch we have continued to work hard and we are delighted to win this award.
“We are very proud to be able to display the RNIB 'see it right' logo, and even more proud to know that we have achieved our aim, and that 100% of people can happily access our website.”
Among the special accessibility features, web users can increase the text size on all pages at the click of a button, and people who are colour blind can change the background colour on all pages to increase the contrast.
People who cannot use a mouse can navigate around the site using special access keys.
Furthermore, a range of technical help is built in to pages to help people using screenreaders to get the information they need quickly and simply.
The website is also designed to be extremely versatile, so potentially it will translate well to other devices such as PDAs and mobile phones – and therefore be made accessible to people without PCs.
Cllr Ellacott continued: “The RNIB logo is fantastic but we will not rest on our laurels. As we continue to upload content on the website we will need to be vigilant to ensure our high accessibility standards are kept up, but we will be up to the task.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The Council’s website was re-launched in May 2004.
Visits to the site have grown by 35% in the last 12 months
The site was receiving over 1,500 visits a day, or over 45,000 visits a month, by the end of 2005.
The site boasts an exceptionally wide range of content, with information about all council services, as well as places to go, a what’s on guide, information about nurseries, schools, colleges, universities and adult education, transport and travel, health and hospitals, and much more.
The site also has an interactive planning application search section, a licensing application search and a special Where I Live interactive feature.
For further information please contact Claire Evans, Communications Officer on 01737 276016 or email claire.evans@reigate-banstead.gov.uk