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You are here: Home > Help > Access to Council services

Access to Council services

This page describes how we aim to meet the needs of customers with disabilities and those with a limited understanding of English.

We are committed to ensuring that all residents and visitors can access the Council, and information about Council services, when they need to.

Town Hall

The Town Hall has been adapted to assist wheelchair users and those with disabilities. There are disabled parking bays near to the reception entrance, and the flooring outside the main doors is coloured and slightly raised to assist partially sighted visitors. The main doors are automatic and have sensors to detect when people are approaching.

In reception, there is space in the waiting area for wheelchair users. The reception desk is lowered at one end to enable easy access to the receptionist. There is a disabled toilet available, and all of the interview rooms and desks are accessible to wheelchair users.

There is portable induction loop available for the hard of hearing, for use in any of the interview rooms. The flooring in the reception area is flat and all on one level.

A lift is available to access the new council chamber, used for public meetings, and there is space for wheelchair users and an induction loop installed.

Customers can make payments out of hours using the night safe. This is situated on the wall of the building to the left of the reception, and a ramp leads up to the night safe, to enable wheelchair users to access this facility.

•  Show me directions to the Town Hall (43.7K)    

Help Shops

All of the Help Shops are at ground level, and Banstead, Horley and Merstham have automatic doors. Redhill Help Shop has a doorbell to alert staff if assistance is needed. All Shops also have glass frontages enabling staff to see customers approaching. Inside each Help Shop there is space for wheelchair users, and interview rooms and desks can be easily accessed.

• Tell me more about the service Help Shops provide and where they are located           

Earlswood Depot

There are disabled parking bays near to the entrance and double doors to the reception area. Access for customers is all on one level.

Sports Centres

The three sports centres in Banstead, Horley and Redhill have automatic doors, and ramps for wheelchair access. The swimming pools have pool hoists, and there are changing facilities and toilets for the disabled. Lift access is available where needed, and each centre has disabled parking bays outside.

The Harlequin

The theatre can be accessed by lift and has automatic doors at the entrance. Disabled parking is available, and disabled toilets are provided.

Community centres

Access to the four Community centres in Banstead, Horley, Redhill and Woodhatch is either on flat, level ground, or by using a ramp. There are automatic doors at the entrance, and lift access where required. All have disabled toilets, and parking bays for disabled visitors outside.

Home visits

For residents claiming housing or council tax benefit, home visits can be arranged for the elderly, disabled or housebound. Contact the Benefits Services team on 01737 276497.

Hearing or speech impaired

The induction loop system helps people who use a hearing aid to hear sounds more clearly by reducing or cutting out background noise. Users switch their hearing aid to the ‘T’ position and adjust the volume as necessary. A portable induction loop is kept in the Town Hall reception for use in the interview rooms.

We use specialist organisations to assist us in dealing with customers who are hearing or speech impaired.

RNID (Royal National Institute of the Deaf) Typetalk provides a telephone relay service, which enables deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing and speech impaired people to communicate with hearing people on the telephone.

We are also able to arrange an experienced sign-language interpreter. Please note that advance notice may be required to arrange this service.

Sight impaired

We use the services of the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) to assist us in dealing with customers who are sight impaired.

Council leaflets and forms can be translated into:

• Braile
• Clear print
  This normally has a type size (point size) of 12 or larger, and concentrates on basic design elements such as font, type size, contrast and page navigation
• Large print
  This normally has a type size (point size) of 16 to 22
• Audio tape             

If you have further inquiries, please contact the Help Line on 01737 276000, or visit your local Help Shop, or email us at customer.services@reigate-banstead.gov.uk.

Non-English-speaking customers

We have arrangements in place to provide interpretation services to assist us in understanding non-English speaking customers:

• Telephone interpreters
• Face to face interpreters
• Text translation
• Text to speech translation            

Please note advance notice may be required to access these services.

Our website

We have designed our website to be accessible to everyone.

• Learn about the website’s various accessibility features          

If you have further inquiries about accessibility to council services, you can:

• contact the Help Line on 01737 276000
• visit your local Help Shop 
• or email us at customer.services@reigate-banstead.gov.uk.