Founder of garden furniture manufacturer highlights the importance of companies catering for people with disabilities, calling on the wider industry to design for inclusivity from the outset, rather than treating it as a specialist add-on.
“Accessibility isn’t just giving somebody somewhere to sit, it’s giving them the same place at the table as everybody else.” That’s the view of Matt Grainger, director of wooden garden furniture company MG Timber Products, who is calling on the industry to stop treating accessibility as an afterthought.
An estimated 16.8 million people in the UK live with a disability, around 25% of the population, according to the House of Commons Library. Yet most garden furniture is still built to a decades-old design that simply doesn’t work for wheelchair users.
Matt believes the problem starts at the design stage.
“Traditional designs were simply built around a standard idea of how somebody approaches and sits at a table.
“With an A-frame picnic table, you have fixed benches and structural framework underneath. That physically prevents somebody in a wheelchair from getting close enough to the tabletop.”
MG Timber began manufacturing wheelchair-accessible picnic tables in 2017, just a year after launching the business in 2016.
Rather than simply adding a wheelchair space to the end of a standard table, as is common practice, the company redesigned the structure so a wheelchair position sits within the main seating line, alongside everybody else.
“A lot of accessible picnic tables simply create a wheelchair space at the end of the table,” Matt explained.
“Our design incorporates the wheelchair position into the side of the table, so the wheelchair user is sitting around the table in the same way as everybody else. We’ve had several customers tell us that’s specifically why they chose our design.”
That approach has led to the tables being installed at sites including the National Trust, Millwall Football Club, the University of Manchester, Alton Towers, alongside numerous schools, charities and community organisations.
Grainger believes most manufacturers simply haven’t prioritised accessible ranges, rather than any intent to exclude.
“An accessible picnic table is more complicated to manufacture and sales volume is naturally lower.
“It’s easier for a manufacturer to concentrate on its highest-volume products. But I don’t think demand should be the only consideration.
“We have the machinery, materials and skills to make relatively small changes that can have a significant impact on somebody’s ability to use a space.”
Research by disability charity Euan’s Guide, supported by Motability Operations, found that 74% of disabled people have had a disappointing trip or had to change their plans due to poor accessibility.
Matt believes the fix is straightforward, if the industry is willing to make it standard practice rather than a bespoke request.
“The biggest change would be to design accessibility into products from the beginning rather than adapting products afterwards.
“Manufacturers should be asking can somebody with limited mobility use this product naturally alongside everybody else?
“Ultimately, the best accessible design shouldn’t draw attention to itself. It should just work.”
His message to manufacturers who don’t currently offer accessible ranges is direct:
“We’re in a privileged position because we can directly solve these problems.
“There is something genuinely rewarding about knowing that something you’ve manufactured allows somebody to participate in something as ordinary as sitting around a picnic table with their family or friends.
“If you’re in a position to make your products more inclusive without compromising them for everybody else, there’s both a responsibility and a privilege in doing so.”
