Wheelchair Accessible Shopping

Have you begun thinking about Christmas and more importantly, have you started shopping? Below is a list of wheelchair accessible shopping centres I like to go to but add your favourites too.

 

BLUEWATER, KENT  MAP  

Bluewater is a two floor shopping centre containing restaurants, shops and a cinema. Built to meet the needs of disabled guests, it is completely accessible. The 800 disabled bays are all located close to entrances and there are adapted toilets throughout the centre. There are also many lifts.
Shop Mobility is available by pre-booking on 01322 427427. It provides free use of electric scooters, powered wheelchairs and manual wheelchairs for five hours.

THE GLADES, BROMLEY  MAP

The Glades is a local shopping centre in Bromley and is step-free. There are lifts to the second floor and disabled toilets on the Ground level. It has a good selection of popular stores and leads out onto the High Street, where you will find more accessible shops.
The Glades is surrounded by a number of Car Parks, where free disabled parking can be found, along with wheelchair/ scooter hire.

CROYDON, SURREY  MAP

The Whitgift Centre and Centrale are shopping centres in Croydon divided by the High Street. Both contain large department stores, as well as, independent and high street shops. There are lifts and disabled toilets in the malls and in some of the shops.
Both the shopping centre have car parks with disabled bays close to the entrances. The Whitgift Centre car park offers wheelchair hire on 0208 688 7336.

ROMFORD, ESSEX  MAP  

If you are looking for somewhere to shop but want to avoid the London crowds, Romford offers the Brewery and the Libertyjoint shopping centre.
The Brewery offers shops, bars and accessible restaurants and also has 85 disabled pay and display car spaces. Shopmobility is also available by calling 01708 722570. For entertainment, there is a 16 screen Vue cinema, which has wheelchair spaces and a 24 lane bowling alley. For children, there is Kidspace, Europe’s largest play area.
The Liberty has over 100 shops, with a mixture of mainstream, and specialist stores.  It leads out onto the High Street and Market Place where more shops and banks lie.

The shopping Mecca is step-free with lifts to go upstairs so is accessible for all. The shops are very spacious and the restaurants have disabled toilets.

CANARY WHARF SHOPPING CENTRE  MAP

Canary Wharf (London) has a small shopping centre full of mid- high priced high street stores. There are large accessible toilets, lifts and doors opened by push-buttons and the floors are smooth with easy ramps.
 
Wheelchairs are free to hire but you will need to show a current valid passport or driving license and a recent utility bill in the same name. (For more information call: 020 7418 2675.)
 
There is underground parking with three hours free on the weekend and bank holidays when you spend £10 in any shop.
The Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf arrives in the centre.

WESTFIELD, LONDON  MAP

Westfield is  a shopper’s paradise with more than 300 designer and high street shops, a variety of restaurants and a large VUE cinema.The centre is step-free with disabled toilets, wheelchair- friendly malls and lifts.

Over 5% of the parking bays at Westfield London are dedicated to disabled parking and customers can book a free wheelchair or motorised scooter. Parking is free Monday – Friday for Blue Badge holders.

 

THE BRUNSWICK  MAP

The Brunswick is a small shopping centre hidden in Bloomsbury, London. It is full of shops, restaurants, and a cinema, It has a number of wheelchair accessible entrances and is step free.

THE LOWRY OUTLET MALL, SALFORD MAP

The Lowry Outlet Mall is located in the heart of Salford Quays and is Manchester's only factory outlet mall. It is open 7 days per week and has over 80 stores, a Vue Cinema and food court.
The mall offers a mobility scheme which has a fleet of recently upgraded scooters and wheelchairs and is eligible to use by all visitors.
The mobility scheme has an annual membership, priced at £20 per year, and members will benefit from:

Free parking with every hire of a mobility scooter or wheelchair (no minimum spend applies)
Priority reservation of wheelchairs/scooter (24 hour notice required)
Individual membership card, which entitles you to free hire of wheelchairs/scooters for a 12-month period.
Special offers and exclusive discounts to use at the Lowry Outlet Mall throughout the year

Those looking to use the service on an ad hoc basis can do so at a non-membership cost of £4 per hire.

The Lowry Outlet Mall Information Desk 0161 848 1850. For more information visit www.lowryoutletmall.com or follow on Twitter @lowryoutletmall