Skip to main content

Barnstaple streets ahead accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the North Devon Council website: barnstaple.co.uk

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

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just 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’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille email customerservices@northdevon.gov.uk or call 01271 327711.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: webmaster@northdevon.gov.uk.

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 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone

Find out how to contact us by phone.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances and exemptions are listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Across the website we use heading structures and a layout that may cause navigational issues for screen reader users. When moving through the website with arrow keys, on plaintext content and some headings the focus is given to the entire main content block of the page. Users will find that if they tab to links after navigating through content with the arrow keys, they may be moved back to the first interactive element on the page, rather than the next link from where they are on the page. This fails WCAG 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A), 2.4.3 Focus Order (A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (A) and 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA). We are doing the following to resolve this issue by working with the auditing company to understand and amend the html.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have made no claims of disproportionate burden.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Portable Document Format - PDF - and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Online maps

Maps that are present on our website and are not used for navigational purposes are exempt under the regulations. We use several maps to show planning or other geographical information. If users require an accessible alternative to this information, please contact us.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 10 January 2022. It was last reviewed on 21 January 2022.

This website was last tested on 21 January 2022. The test was carried out internally.

Automatic testing and a selection of user journeys were tested that represent the breadth of content across the website along with some documents.