centre:mk to mark Purple Tuesday by encourage retailers and visitors to Think Accessibility

The centre:mk shopping centre in Milton Keynes is encouraging retailers and shoppers to ‘Think Accessibility’ ahead of marking Purple Tuesday.

Taking place on 4 November, Purple Tuesday is a global movement, with participation from thousands of businesses and organisations in over 30 countries. The huge initiative highlights the challenges disabled people face in navigating public spaces and services, shining a spotlight on their needs and supporting the implementation of ways to improve their visitor experience.

This year’s initiatives follow the success of 2024, when centre:mk was at the heart of city-wide efforts to make Milton Keynes the UK’s first accessible ‘Purple City’.

For 2025, centre:mk announced that they will be the first UK shopping centre to deliver Unseen Aware Training to 100% of its staff and retailers. Between 70-80% of disabilities are unseen, so the news is intended to mark an important moment for improving accessibility for all.

Unseen Aware helps to normalise the conversation by giving those with unseen disabilities the confidence to speak up, and giving those who don’t have an unseen disability the confidence to reply. It gives individuals access to an online training portal, with a series of training videos to complete to become an Unseen Disabilities Ally.

The course equips the trainee with the skills and principles to interact with people with unseen disabilities, covers the range of unseen disabilities and the support that individuals may need. The training also provides a weekly newsletter covering new topics that further enhance the training platform. By providing the stores that have taken part in the training with a decal for their window, and staff with an unseen aware badge, shoppers with unseen disabilities can be confident that the staff in that retailer will be able to give them the customer service that they need, for the best possible experience.

Commenting on the milestone, Social Entrepreneur and Founder of Unseen Aware, Simon Houghton, said, “As someone with hearing loss, I know the day-to-day challenges of a hidden disability all too well. Unseen Aware aims to give staff the confidence to approach and interact with others who have a hidden disability, so it’s hugely encouraging to see centre:mk delivering this vital training across its entire staff and retailers.”

Unseen Aware enhances centre:mk’s existing unseen disabilities training, including dementia awareness and basic sign language. The fully-flat centre now also has 17 Mental Health First Aiders and operates a sunflower lanyard scheme.

The centre launched its first sensory room in November 2024, offering a quiet and calming space for families and individuals to take a break from the busy shops and public spaces environment. Since its launch, the sensory room has proved a valuable addition to centre:mk’s accessibility efforts, having been used 128 times over the past 12 months. centre:mk also offers mobility scooter and wheelchair hire free of charge, has a Changing places toilet and a hearling loop in the guest services lounge.

The centre is also a proud partner of an audit of public spaces across Milton Keynes, alongside MyMiltonKeynes (MyMK) BID and accessibility organisation AccessAble. The results, in the form of online summaries of destinations and spaces, mean that disabled people can plan their visits and understand the facilities available to them in advance.

For Purple Tuesday this year, MyMK will be conducting a questionnaire to gain feedback and ideas into how accessibility can be further improved in Milton Keynes city centre and what modifications and enhancements people would like to see. The questionnaire will be available online and via a QR code in centre:mk’s Guest Services lounge – decorated in honour of Purple Tuesday alongside the centre’s purple-lit cark park.

Ahead of Purple Tuesday 2025, Kim Priest, Head of Marketing at centre:mk, said,“centre:mk is already an incredibly accessible centre, all on one level with excellent facilities. Our “Open to All” commitment is the delivery of an inclusive, welcoming environment to everyone, all year round and that is at the heart of the training we have delivered with Unseen Aware. We are the first shopping centre to have 100% completion by our retailers and staff, bringing us another step closer to achieving our vision of creating the first “Purple City” in collaboration with MyMK and other businesses across the city centre.”