Website Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Whaleybridge.com

This accessibility statement applies to the website Whaleybridge.com

This website is run by Whaley Bridge Town Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also tried our best to make the website text as simple as possible to understand. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know most parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  • you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
  • there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page

Due to the current inaccessibility of the website we would ask disabled users to request an alternative version rather than waste time trying to make it work with their assistive technology.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

If you cannot view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, call or email us [add link to contact details page] for

directions.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please report this issue to the Town Clerk who is responsible for dealing with these reports. The Clerk is available via email townclerk@whaleybridgetowncouncil.gov.uk, phone 01663 733068 or post to Whaley Bridge Town Council, Mechanics Institute, 27 Market Street, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7AA.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies

(Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility

regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us http://www.whaleybridge.com/contacting-the-town-clerk/.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Whaley Bridge Town Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances and exemptions are listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

  • Nearly all pages of the website are non-accessible as they cannot be effectively traversed with a keyboard and do not work with screen readers.
  • The link text to documents on text based pages are not linked correctly and needs changing throughout.
  • The only interactive tool the 3G booking form cannot be completed.
  • The Images on the website do not have captions.
  • The older PDF documents on the website are not accessible and they do not display instructions clearly.
  • You are unable increase or decrease the font size however zooming in and out does work.
  • No site map and the search options are limited.
  • Fails on HTML aspects.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The accessibility problems listed above apply and are the main issues with the website.

The website fails WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria in many different aspects which are listed below;

  • Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content
  • Success Criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
  • Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
  • Success Criterion 1.2.6 Sign Language (Prerecorded)
  • Success Criterion 1.2.7 Extended Audio Description (Prerecorded)
  • Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
  • Success Criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
  • Success Criterion 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics
  • Success Criterion 1.3.4 Orientation
  • Success Criterion 1.4.4 Resize text
  • Success Criterion 1.4.5 Images of Text
  • Success Criterion 1.4.8 Visual Presentation
  • Success Criterion 1.4.10 Reflow
  • Success Criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard
  • Success Criterion 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide
  • Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks
  • Success Criterion 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures
  • Success Criterion 3.2.1 On Focus
  • Success Criterion 3.3.1 Error Identification

To rectify the vast number of issues with the website Whaley Bridge Town Council has taken the step to commission a completely new website which will be fully accessible. The Council has agreed the supplier and now there is a delay while the new website is created. Once this new website is created all content from this website will be transferred over to the new website and will be displayed in an accessible way.

Disproportionate burden

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with non-compliance listed above. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. The Council is in the process of obtaining a new website to fix the issues so feels it is a disproportionate burden to also fix this website while they new one is being completed.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23

September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix an old article where a PDF scan has been placed on the website.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are providing an entirely new website which will meet the accessibility regulations. We are hoping to have this completed as soon as possible but appreciate it might take a few months before fully complete.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 11th September 2020. It was last reviewed on 10th September 2020. This website was last tested on 31st July 2020. The test was carried out by Whaley Bridge Town Council. The approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test is available on request.