01473 612 632
enquiries@martleshamcouncil.org.uk

Accessibility Statement

Introduction

This accessibility statement applies to www.martleshamparishcouncil.org.uk (Martlesham Parish
Council)

This website is run by Martlesham Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to
use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • Navigate most of the website using a keyboard
  • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. We aim to achieve this by:

  • Using clear language that is easy to understand
  • Not using blinking or flashing elements
  • Being mindful of text contrasts and size
  • Ensuring that non-text elements such as images, animations, symbols, audio and video have text equivalents.
  • Ensuring that decorative graphics or images have empty text attributes to avoid confusion

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is:

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • The text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  • Most of our older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • There is a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘Home’ and ‘Contact Us’ pages
  • We are unable to add alt text to maps as the functionality is not supported by our website provider

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website:

If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print or
audio recording, please contact the clerk to the parish council and we will respond to your request
within 10 working days.

If you cannot view the map on our ‘Home’ or ‘Contact Us’ pages. Please call or email us for directions
in an alternative format.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page, or if you think we are not meeting
accessibility requirements, please contact the parish clerk about the issue by emailing:
clerk@martleshamcouncil.org.uk or by phone on 01473 612632.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector
Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. If you’re not happy
with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Martlesham Parish Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the
Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due the non-compliances listed below:

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

  • PDF documents: Many of our older PDF documents do not meet accessibility standards for example, some of our minutes and agendas are in a table format. This makes these documents inaccessible to a screen reader and therefore non-compliant with WCAG 2.2 success criteria 4.1.2 (name, role, value)
  • Images: Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This is non-compliant with WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content)
  • Maps: Maps do not have alternative text so people using screen readers access information. This is non-compliant with WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content)

We plan to add text alternatives for all images where possible. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Navigation and accessing information

  • There is no way to skip the repeated content on the page headers (for example a ‘skip to main content’ option) when using a keyboard or a screen reader. This is non-compliant with WCAG 2.4.1 (bypass blocks)

Disproportionate burden

  • There is no way to add alternative text to our maps. We have contacted our website provider and they have stated that they are not able to add alternative text to this element, as the functionality isn’t supported.
  • The parish council is aware that some of its documents are not accessible but has deemed it a disproportionate burden to retrospectively fix all older files to make them accessible. Documents created from the 1st October 2025 will be made in accordance with accessibility standards but if you need additional help or support in accessing the information in the older, non-accessible documents, please contact the clerk.

We have assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

  • We regularly monitor the accessibility of our website, and where we can improve on it, we will. We follow a specific set of guidelines to ensure all of our content meets the WCAG 2.2 Standard.
  • We ensure that all new PDF documents (created after 1st October 2025) published on our website are as accessible as possible

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared 7th November 2025. It was last reviewed on the 7th November 2025. This website was last tested in November 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The test was carried out by Martlesham Parish Council. All pages were tested using software that highlights WCAG 2.2AA errors and alerts (the Wave Accessibility software).

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