Dodington Parish Council has recently installed an accessible picnic bench on Wapley Common. The design allows wheelchair access, with the approach via a very gentle slope from the tarmac pathway. The closest location for parking with a flat route to the bench is the parking area at Besom Lane. The kissing gate there can be opened wide using a RADAR key,

To answer a few questions that have been raised by visitors to the common, the bench is red because some colours such as black can be intimidating for people with certain types of dementia, who may perceive black objects as holes. A red seat will be a useful prominent landmark. The bench has been sited on a large concrete pad to avoid ground erosion underneath, as tends to happen with our smaller benches. This will help people with lesser mobility problems. Finally, the bench is at this location on the main part of the Common because it’s where there is the least slope down from the tarmac path.

A red picnic bench on common land

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