Newmarket joins national initiative to improve shopping for disabled people

A Newmarket father-of-three who suffers from a rare degenerative and debilitaing condition is hoping to turn the town purple next month in a bid to make shopping easier for people with disabilities.

Peter Neville has joined forces with town mayor Rachel Hood, town councillors Peter Hulbert, who is registered blind, and Dave Wright, who has suffered a stroke, community Facebook organiser Mick Smith and Newmarket BID, in an initiative which will see the town take part in the country’s first day dedicated to accessible shopping.

Purple Tuesday, a Government-backed scheme, will be on November 13 and Peter is hoping it will see retailers throughout the town introduce new measures to make shopping more inclusive for disabled customers.

Forty-one-year-old Peter, a former chef, who once cooked for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they were guests at Jesus College, in Cambridge, has Charcot Marie-Tooth, a genetic neurological condition which damages the peripheral nerves. causing a variety of issues including the weakening of muscles leading to major difficulties with walking, balance and hand function.

“Estimates put the spending power of disabled people at billions of pounds but much of that is being lost because disabled people have a poor customer experience when they go into shops,” said Peter.

“The aim of Purple Tuesday is to make Newmarket’s shops and businesses more aware of the opportunities they have to make changes to improve the shopping experience for their disabled customers.”

On the day, posters will be displayed in town shops participating in the initiative and community clubs will be encouraged to take part by taking stands in the memorial hall between 10am and 3pm where they can display information about what they do.

Disabled shoppers will also be asked for their feedback on how they find shopping in the town.

“We hope shops will commit to trying to make things better for disabled customers making it easier for them to spend their money with them,” said Peter.

One idea is for shops to provide certain members of shop staff with badges so they can be identified by a disabled shopper as the person to approach if they need help.