BELLINGEN Council has resolved to adopt the Bellingen Shire Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2022-2026, in accordance with the 2014 Regulation requiring all councils to have a Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) in place by 1 July 2022.

Council wants to hear from people living with disability, family members, carers, service providers, businesses and anyone interested in creating an environment that is accessible and inclusive.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

They also want to thank community members who have contributed their feedback to make the Shire more inclusive and accessible.

In outlining Council’s plans to make life easier for people living with disability, the Action Plan explains the steps that Council, in conjunction with the broader community, will take to ensure everyone has access to services, facilities, events and information.

In developing the new DIAP, Council focused on increased consultation and involvement of people with a disability.

“The feedback we received via our community and staff surveys, focus group meetings and submissions have been incorporated into the adopted Plan,” a Council spokesperson told News Of The Area.

The Plan has four key focus areas:

– Promoting positive community attitudes and behaviours;

– Creating liveable communities;

– Supporting access to meaningful employment; and

– Improving access to services through systems and processes.

Continued consultation and involvement of people with a disability will also be a focus of the implementation phase.

The Council is committed to working with people with disability to create an equitable, accessible and inclusive community, making Bellingen Shire a better place to live or visit for people of all abilities.

Some of the ways Council will facilitate this include improving access to community buildings; making it easier for people to use parks, beaches and playgrounds; creating accessible documents and making information easier to understand.

The Bellingen Shire Mobility Map is a handy tool showing accessible features including toilets and disabled parking spaces on maps of Dorrigo, Urunga, Mylestom and Bellingen together with useful phone numbers and information on the availability of groups and services.

The map is free from a number of locations around the Shire including Visitor Information Centres, Libraries, Neighbourhood Centres and Bellingen Shire Council’s Administration Centre.

By Susan KONTIC