The Accessibility Survey is Open!
Our Accessibility Survey gives the opportunity for you to share your experiences, feedback and ideas to help identify barriers to accessibility and highlight opportunities for improvements that could make the islands more welcoming and accessible for everyone.
The survey is available electronically by scanning the QR Code, as a Microsoft Form or paper copies are available to pick up at key locations across all the islands:
St Mary’s - St Mary’s Post Office; St Mary’s Library; Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre; Castle Farm Shop, Old Town; Quay House Shop (CRN Office)
St Agnes - St Agnes Post Office
Bryher – Bryher Post Office
Tresco – Tresco Post Office
St Martin’s – Community Centre
Return via drop-off boxes (St Mary’s Post Office, St Mary’s Library and Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre). Freepost envelopes at all other locations.
The survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. The information you provide will remain confidential and all data will be anonymised.
The survey closes on the 30th September 2026.
If you have any questions or need this document in an alternative format, please get in touch hello@scillyresearch.org
Accessibility
Bryher F.
Scilly is spectacular, yet it can be difficult - or occasionally impossible - for some people to access the islands and all they have to offer. Visitors and residents of all ages could experience short, long-term, or permanent mobility issues due to injury, ill-health, disability, or simply the privilege of growing older. Getting around and travelling to and from the islands can also be more challenging for young families with buggies, people with caring responsibilities and for anyone with invisible conditions, SEND, and sight or hearing impairments, but when accessibility is improved everyone benefits.
- Bryher F.
Our community researcher, Bryher, brought the idea of an accessibility project to us, as she recognises that the beautiful place we call home may not be experienced equally by all. She wants to learn more about people’s experiences and the present state of accessibility on the islands. We worked together to establish a working project definition of ‘accessibility’ and to develop a project proposal.
What do we mean by accessibility?
For the purposes of the project we consider 'accessibility' to mean the ease with which individuals can use and move around, between, and to and from all of the inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly and their businesses and services, as well as to our vital mainland connections. This broad definition seeks to include, but is not limited to, the diverse needs of people with and without disabilities, whether they walk, cycle, use mobility aids, have a sensory impairment or a visible or invisible injury or illness, are neurodivergent, have caring and parenting responsibilities.
Isles of Scilly Accessibility Project Objectives:
Over time, this multi-phase study aims to assess current infrastructure, services, and community and visitor experiences across the Isles of Scilly. The project will explore accessibility legislation and duties, and their applicability within our unitary authority. The project is underpinned by awareness of Scilly’s unique space, rich heritage and protected landscapes and wildlife, which may present natural and legislative limitations; these will be
explored and considered throughout.
Project findings can be used to support the community and its organisations to identify and implement practical, sensitive changes. Improvements can make life easier for residents and promote inclusive tourism.
Project Components:
• Accessibility Audits
Designed in phases, these audits will build on each other as the body of research grows, with seasonal, operational, and other changeable factors considered. When finished, the project aims to have considered the islands as a whole including: all public-accessed infrastructure, connectivity between the islands and mainland: island businesses, services, and public spaces; the natural environment; and emergency evacuation procedures.
Consideration of legislation and best practice guidelines will be factored into audit reports.
• Community and Expert Engagement
Our island community and its visitors are diverse. What is accessible for one person may exclude another, so it’s vital that research includes and is shaped by as many voices as possible. The project will welcome and seek out community views and experiences, engage with expert organisations and people with lived experience, and welcome the support and inclusion of interested and aligned groups.
• Outputs
As they are completed, each audit report and any anonymised survey engagement analysis will be publicly available. Findings can be used by the community and its organisations to support proposals for improvements, and in funding applications to implement them. When enough data is gathered by the project, it will be adapted into a growing Scilly-wide accessibility guide, in a variety of formats, to support the community and inclusive tourism.
Questions we will be considering include:
• What are the main accessibility barriers including travel and daily life on the Isles of Scilly, from arrival to local services?
• Who holds legal and operational responsibility for improving accessibility, and how is this coordinated?
• What are the unique features and limitations that affect accessibility on the islands?
• How can local institutions (businesses, tourism bodies, health services) contribute to a more inclusive island environment?
Whether you think Scilly needs no improvements, or you’re full of ideas of changes that might help, we hope to hear from you…
Please get in touch if you would like to share your views or get involved with the project, and please complete our accessibility survey.
Bryher is really keen to hear from anyone wishing to volunteer directly on the project by taking part in the audits, and especially so if you have lived experience relating to accessibility issues.
There’s free GIS training available in July for two people who can commit time to completing audits during the future project phases.
For more information, to share your views or express your interest in getting involved in the survey or the training - contact us by email hello@scillyresearch.org, use our Contact Us Form, call on 01720 575302 or pop into Quay House.
Apr 26 - present
Jan -
Mar
2026
Project Timeline
Our ultimate goal is to work in partnership to develop an Accessible Isles of Scilly Framework - something that supports future improvement works and inclusive design, informs local decision-making, and forms the foundation of a wider multi-year programme to enhance equitable, sustainable, inclusive access that respects Scilly’s natural beauty and rich heritage.
Phase Two
We are currently designing Phase 2 of the project, which will look at inter-island connectivity and entry points to Scilly, and accessibility needs and features intentionally excluded from Phase 1 due to the impact of seasonal fluctuations. The pilot in Phase 1 established a framework, and provided learning opportunities to enhance future audits. The second phase will be supported by the learning from Phase 1 including the analysis of the findings of the accessibility survey.
Phase One: A Pilot Study
The first phase audited the streets, pavements, public toilets and refuge points from St Mary’s quay to the end of Hugh Street on St Mary’s; the primary pedestrian route for residents, visitors and the site of several essential services. We’re very grateful to have been awarded funding from the Isles of Scilly National Landscape Partnership under DEFRA’s 'Access for All’ programme to support this work.
We collaborated with one of the CRN project’s partners, Five Islands Academy, to include students in the pilot study as part of their Project Week. We conducted workshops designed to help students experience how using mobility aids changes their experience of their island home. Students worked with our visiting expert Sharon Thomas and her service dog Rubix to consider what accessibility means and how we can make our environment more inclusive for everyone.
The initial phase of the project has now finished, and the report is now available. In this report you will find details of the audit design and decisions, audit findings, and considerations for future audits.
Pilot Phase Accessibilty Audit Report Published
This audit focussed on parts of St. Mary's Quay to the end of Hugh Street, a key area of the town. It used accessibility data to consider how these public spaces compare to best practice guidance, and whether some users of the space might experience exclusion. The findings from this pilot and future audits will support the development of a wider accessibility guide for public use in future, and could be used to support future improvements.
If you need this document in an alternative format, please get in touch.
