A new Changing Place Toilet (CPT) and changing facility has been opened today (19 September) at Millers Dale car park, next to the Monsal Trail in the heart of the Peak District National Park.
Located at the former Millers Dale railway station – between Buxton and Bakewell – the new state-of-the-art facility will help to unlock access to the countryside for those with additional, or particularly complex care needs.
Around 2,500 CPTs can be found across the UK, with those already available in the Peak District typically linked with attractions or other facilities such as at Chatsworth House or the National Trust’s Ilam Park, near Ashbourne. Several others are based in neighbouring towns and cities.
The Millers Dale CPT is the first to be located alongside the National Park’s 35-mile network of multi-user, traffic-free accessible routes along former rail lines. In a nod to this former history, the CPT building itself has been designed to reflect a railway workers’ hut, sitting alongside the recently renovated Millers Dale Station Goods Shed.
The Changing Place Toilet facility, supplied by Danfo, includes an accessible peninsula toilet, a height adjustable changing bench, and a ceiling hoist – electrically operated for ease of use by family, friends or carers.
It has been funded by a range of regional and national partners including the Peak District National Park Foundation, Accessible UK, Muscular Dystrophy UK, and the Peak District National Park Authority in partnership with High Peak Borough Council through the Department for Housing, Communities and Levelling Up.
People need a RADAR key to access the facility. These are available widely to buy including from visitor centres and online, allowing access to facilities nation-wide.
The development at Millers Dale’s old station includes disabled access to the former goods shed and platforms, which are ideal for picnics or a visit to the café, with easy access onto the Monsal Trail which historically carried trains between Manchester and London. The Millers Dale visitor hub and 8.5-mile trail, which runs between Blackwell Mill and Bakewell, are owned and managed by the Peak District National Park Authority.
The Changing Place toilet can be found at Millers Dale car park, post code SK17 8SN or What 3 Words: oldest.headlight. quietly.
A virtual tour of the new CPT with Accessible UK’s Gillian Scotford can be found at www.peak district.gov.uk along with further information about visiting the Monsal Trail and other accessible opportunities in the Peak District National Park.
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