Our Purple City: Accessibility and Inclusion
‘Our Purple City’ is an award winning initiative, delivered by the BID and City Centre partners including centre:mk, MK Theatre, Midsummer Place and Unity Place, which aspires to make Milton Keynes one of the UK’s most inclusive and accessible cities. ​
AccessAble Guide and Business Grant
We commissioned AccessAble to create a City Centre-wide Accessibility Guide. It covers seven key areas within Milton Keynes City Centre, including Unity Place, Xscape, The Hub, centre:mk, and Midsummer Place. The Guide highlights essential accessibility features like Changing Places toilets, accessible parking, and pedestrian-friendly crossings. The AccessAble website is used by over six million people a year.
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We are encouraging local businesses to build on this work by commissioning their own AccessAble Detailed Access Guides. We have created a dedicated Business Toolkit and match-funded grant scheme for our members to access to pay 50% of the cost of commissioning their own Guide (up to a maximum of £1000).
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Purple 365 Training
All BID levy payers can now access Purple 365 Training for free. This is a program designed to help businesses and organisations become more inclusive and accessible, particularly for individuals with disabilities. Through workshops, e-learning modules, and consultancy, Purple 365 Training covers areas such as: Understanding the needs of customers and employees with disabilities. Practical steps to make services, environments, and communication more accessible. Compliance with legal standards like the Equality Act in the UK. Building confidence in interacting with people with disabilities. To access the training, please contact the BID office for log-in details: Info@mymiltonkeynes.co.uk
MK Umbrella Project
We have been part of the MK Umbrella Project steering group, which delivered the fabulous installation of 400 colourful umbrellas in Midsummer Place shopping centre.