Changing Places opens in Grassington

Two National Park representatives have opened a fully accessible public toilet and changing facility in the much-visited town of Grassington.

Abby Day, the newest member of the Yorkshire Dales Local Access Forum, and Elliott Lorimer, the National Park Authority’s new Director of Park Services, met to formally open the Changing Places Toilet earlier this month.

The facility, next door to Grassington National Park Visitor Centre, is for people who may need hoist equipment and extra space to use the toilet safely and comfortably.

It is the second Changing Places toilet to open in the National Park, with the first being unveiled last year at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes.  The hope is that Changing Places Toilets will help make the Yorkshire Dales National Park a more welcoming place for all.

Abby Day, a sociology professor who has multiple sclerosis, volunteered to join the Local Access Forum, and has an interest in improving access to the National Park for people with limited mobility.

She said: “I’m really excited to see this facility open.  It will make people who want to come to one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world a lot more confident to do so.  They can come, and feel welcome, and feel that this is a place for them.

“We live in a diverse nation and I want to make sure anyone can come to the Yorkshire Dales National Park to enjoy it.”

Elliott Lorimer started as Director of Park Services earlier this year, and is responsible for around 80 staff including rangers; access, learning and engagement officers; and information advisors at the National Park visitor centres.  

He commented: “This Changing Places Toilet in Grassington is a fantastic addition to the visitor services we run in the National Park.  Special thanks should go to our maintenance and facilities officer, Paul Bishop, for his hard work installing it.

“The Changing Places Toilet fits into a bigger picture in which we are trying to make as much of the visitor infrastructure in the National Park as accessible as we can, whether that’s increasing the “Miles Without Stiles” rights of way network, having electric vehicle charge points in our car parks which have bays wide enough for wheelchair users, or providing sturdy motorised wheelchairs for use at sites such as Aysgarth Falls.”

Mr Lorimer added:  “I’ve come from working in another protected landscape not so very far away – in the Forest of Bowland – and I’m really excited to be here to work in a National Park. I am looking forward to developing some of our work programmes, particularly around access and engagement, to make sure the National Park is a welcoming place for everyone.”