A SHOPPING centre has made changes to its facilities and its approach for people with disabilities.

The Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool, is working closely with Shopmobility to raise £45,000 to extend its unit to house additional wheelchairs, scooters and walking aids for shoppers with mobility problems.

However, the centre wanted to enhance its overall appeal for disabled people, and to do this the Hartlepool Access Group undertook a professional survey of the centre.

The survey was carried out with people with disabilities who use the centre on a regular basis.

To date, the centre has ensured its entrance signs, containing valuable shopping information and maps are at the correct height for people in wheelchairs to read and reach.

Large print and Braille language have also been used on the entrance boards to help those with visual impairments.

Selected staff have also completed the Welcome All course, which is a customer service course specifically designed for people with disabilities.

All staff at the centre have also undertaken sign language courses so they can deal with inquiries from people who are deaf to make shopping easier.

Cormac Hamilton, centre manager at Middleton Grange, said: "Middleton Grange has really benefited from the disability survey carried out by the Hartlepool Access Group.

"With the Disability Discrimination Act coming into force next year it was an obvious step to ask a local organisation who use the skills of local people to tell us what they require of the shopping centre.

"The training the team have carried out will also make us far more aware of local people's requirements.

"Combining the training and improvements to the centre I hope will make the centre, and Hartlepool, known in the region as being a good place to come for those with access difficulties."