Accessibility at Manor Park Gardens

Gardening Manor Park is committed to ensuring that our grounds, information and online presence are accessible to as many people as possible, including visitors to the Gardening Manor Park area and the wider Gardening Manor community. This statement explains our ongoing work to meet accessibility standards and practical measures we take on site and online. We recognise that accessibility benefits everyone and strive to make Manor Park gardens welcoming, navigable and understandable.

We follow WCAG 2.1 AA compliance as our baseline for digital content and design. That means our public pages and downloadable materials aim to meet the AA success criteria for perceivable, operable, understandable and robust content. For on-site information, signage and digital kiosks in the Gardening Manor Park area we apply the same accessibility principles so visitors with diverse needs can access information and services.

Screen-reader support is prioritised across our online resources. We use semantic HTML, clear heading structures and accessible ARIA roles where necessary to ensure assistive technologies can parse content reliably. All images that convey information include descriptive alt text; decorative images are coded to be ignored by screen readers. We provide clear labels for forms and interactive elements so screen-reader users can complete tasks such as booking tours, viewing maps or reading event details in the Gardening Manor Park area.

Keyboard navigation is fully supported across our web pages and interactive features. Users can navigate menus, open accordions and submit forms without a mouse. We maintain logical focus order and visible focus indicators so keyboard users and those who rely on switch devices or screen readers can interact with content efficiently. Tab and Enter behaviours are tested regularly to reduce barriers to entry for people who use alternative input methods.

On site at Gardening Manor Park and Manor Park gardens we aim to provide accessible routes, seating and wayfinding. Materials describing accessible paths include clear language and maps with high-contrast markings. Where digital wayfinding is provided, it is designed to be usable with mobile screen readers and browser-based accessibility tools. Our signage follows legibility best practices: large type, sufficient contrast and non-reflective finishes to assist people with low vision.

We offer multiple content formats to improve understandability: simple, well-structured pages, downloadable documents in accessible formats, and captions or transcripts for multimedia where practical. For events and educational offerings in the Gardening Manor Park area we work with partners to provide captioned videos and accessible presentation materials. If a specific format is not available, we will make reasonable efforts to provide the content in an alternative accessible format upon request.

Our commitments include routine testing and continuous improvement. We conduct automated checks and manual audits against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria, test with popular screen readers and browsers, and include keyboard-only evaluations. We track issues and prioritise fixes that have the greatest user impact.

Key accessibility features

• Consistent headings and semantic structure for reliable navigation.
• High color contrast and scalable text for readability across devices.
• Keyboard operability, visible focus states and skip links.
• Alt text for informative images and descriptive labels for maps and diagrams.
• Captions and transcripts for recorded media when available.

We value inclusive design and engage in user testing with people with a range of disabilities to guide improvements. Our maintenance plan for digital and physical assets schedules regular reviews so the Gardening Manor Park accessibility approach evolves alongside technological and legal standards. We also monitor third-party tools and content to encourage accessibility across services we link to or embed.

If you need information in an alternative format, have difficulty using a particular feature or wish to report an accessibility issue at Gardening Manor Park, please get in touch through the accessibility contact options published on our official visitor information channels. We welcome accessibility requests and will respond with appropriate alternatives. Please note that response times can vary; we aim to acknowledge requests promptly and resolve them as quickly as possible. Our goal is to make the Garden Manor Park experience equitable and enjoyable for everyone.