Fully accessible changing place to be built in St. Brelade's Bay

Monday 03 May 2021

Building will soon start on a fully accessible changing place - offering toilet, washing and changing facilities - in St. Brelade’s Bay, which will allow islanders with a disability to enjoy the beach.

Enable Jersey recently received £87,000 from the Fiscal Stimulus Fund for the project and building is expected to start at the end of the month.

Jenny Baudains, the charity’s Project Manager, said the initiative was originally a joint project with Healing Waves and Beachability, before Enable took the lead.

With 14,000 people in the island living with a disability, a number that is expected to increase as the population ages, all three charities recognised there was need for more facilities.

Pictured: A changing place has enough room to allow a wheelchair to manoeuvre, and for a carer to go in.

Jenny explained a changing place is designed for islanders who cannot use accessible toilets. It includes a changing bench, a shower, a hoist as well as a sink and toilet, as well as plenty of room to allow a wheelchair to manoeuvre and for a carer to go in.

There are currently four changing places like this in the island, in Millennium Park, Seale Street, Acorn and at Les Quennevais, but none of them are near the beach.

“The issue with them not being near the beach is that anyone with complex needs can only go down the beach for a short period of time, otherwise they need to go back home if they need the toilet or they need to try and be changed on a toilet floor which is not ideal,” Jenny said.

“This project would allow them to stay in the area for a lot longer, which we all take for granted. When you are in a wheelchair, you have to be mindful of the access to the beach and facilities, it becomes much more complex to have a day out, it’s not just the case of putting a sandwich in a bag and going to the beach.”

Pictured: The facility would allow islanders with complex needs to spend more time at the beach - something many people take for granted.

Sean Pontin, who recently joined the charity as its Chief Executive, said the project comes  at a really important time for Enable as it moves on “from a difficult 12 months and look to where we can make the most difference in the future”. 

“We are a charity with a long and proud history of supporting islanders and we want to continue to do so by championing these sort of projects as well as giving everyone a voice and stimulating conversation to promote change,” he said.

Enable has been working with the Government to build the changing place in Winston Churchill car park, near the toilet block. Once building is complete, the charity will be handing the facility over to the Government who will be responsible for its upkeep.

“It will be a public facility open to anyone who needs it,” Jenny said.

Pictured: The facility will be built in Winston Churchill car park, near the toilet block.

St. Brelade’s Bay was picked as the location for the new facility due to its proximity to a car park and a variety of hospitality venues as well as the presence of one of Beachability’s wheelchairs.

“As much as it is about access to the beach, it is also about improving people’s wellbeing, helping them enjoy the outdoors and improving their standards of living,” Jenny said.

“A lot of disabled people have difficulties leaving their home and how long they can spend outside the house is based on the facilities available.”

Building the changing place will cost a total of £108,000 and Enable received £87,000 from the Government’s Fiscal Stimulus Fund to get the project off the ground. The charity will fund the remaining £21,000 out of its own funds. 

Planning permission has already been granted and it is hoped that building work will start at the end of May and be completed by the end of the summer.

Pictured: St. Brelade’s Bay is close to a car park and a variety of hospitality venues.

“If we didn’t have the funding, we would have had to stop the project,” Jenny said. “We are really excited and really pleased to receive the funding.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to work in partnership to deliver a much-needed facility. We all take it for granted that we can go to the beach when it’s not the case for everyone. It becomes more challenging for some islanders, to be able to provide this is going to help people with more complex needs is a fantastic opportunity to help the island be more inclusive.

“As a charity, it’s a really fantastic opportunity to provide a facility to allow people to be able to go outside, enjoy life. This is also an opportunity for Jersey to showcase that we are a disabled friendly island.”