WEMBDON is leading the way when it comes to community facilities accessible to everyone.
Work is well underway on new, fully accessible play equipment which can be used by everybody from the able-bodied to the profoundly disabled which will be unique in the Sedgemoor area.
Wembdon Parish Council, spurred on by local mum and disability campaigner Louise Jackson, have succeeded in gaining grants from the Big Lottery Fund which have enabled them to install an all-purpose trampoline which is double sprung and enhanced to be used by anyone, as well as new roundabout.
The Parish Council have also installed access-for-all toilets and changing facilities complete with hoists, a shower, and underfloor heating.
The project first came about after Louise Jackson was out walking her dog with her sons Finley, age seven, and three-year-old Jet.
Finley has a very rare brain condition called SCN-2A which only between 70 and 80 people have worldwide.
Its severity means he is unable to walk, talk, feed or sit up and requires 24/7 care.
While out on Wembdon Green Louise bumped into Wembdon Parish Council chairman Mike Solomon.
"When we go to the play park, Jet can play but Finley can only sit and watch, he is segregated. Also the previous lack of toilet facilities either meant trying to sort Finley out in the back of the van going home early," Louise explained.
Cllr Solomon said: "It was eye-opening for me. We had worked so hard on the new Village Hall and making it a community facility, and yet if this person and others in similar predicaments felt excluded then we had not achieved our goal of a facility accessible to everyone."
This initial talk led to meetings with the parish council, and the can-do attitude of Louise Jackson, Cllr Solomon and Cllr Anne Reed among others created a vision for the new equipment and set about getting funding.
"To see the equipment nearly ready brings a tear to my eye," Mrs Jackson said.
"Honestly having Finley means you are constantly trying to find a balance and you want him to have as many opportunities as possible but often the lack of facilities for someone in his position means it is easier for us just to stay at home.
"But this will change that. The combination of the play park, the toilet and changing facilities, the cafe and facilities at the Village Hall and Wembdon Green mean we can have a full day out here.
"I am involved in many Facebook groups with mums in similar positions and already there is a lot of talk and excitement about these facilities. I think people will travel far and wide to use them and I hope we can add more equipment in the future."
The Access For All play equipment is being installed by GL Jones who specialise in the industry.
Cllr Solomon said this was another excellent addition to the thriving Village Hall and Wembdon Green.
"It was an ambitious project which some saw as a bit of a white elephant, but it has been a huge success," Cllr Solomon said.
"We have a footfall of 60,000 a year here, we have lots of groups and activities, and the sports teams are very popular."
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