A lift for ants
2
2
Date of visit: August 2026
I am a disabled person and a general supporter of disabled access. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment, accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: autism, disabled toilet, powerchair, walking aid
Overall Rating
Poor
I could get around the shop floor fine, I was only able to go upstairs because I had a helper and my chair is not big, the roll down to the entrance when arriving is extremely steep and you need to go in the road. This is great if you only need something from downstairs, if you can arrive in a car, if you have someone helping you, and if you use a tiny manual wheelchair or smaller mobility aid.
Disabled Access In and Around
Poor
The shop aisles are spaced well. I did not have trouble fitting on the shop floor. The height of the shelves was good too; I definitely couldn't reach everything, but a large amount of it was accessible to me. This shop is on two floors. There is a lift. The lift is terrible. Even if you're successful on the way up, you might find yourself becoming stranded when it's time to leave. There is a ramp without side lips to access the lift, and a door that opens outwards. You need somebody to open the door and hold it open for you. If you cannot roll up the ramp unassisted, you need somebody else to push you up. The lift is extremely, painfully tiny. My powerchair is pretty small, at 64cm wide and 100cm long. I had to fold up my foot plate to fit. The lift is just a platform moving in a shaft, so my feet got scraped against the shaft wall as we went up. Upon reaching the upper floor, the door now opens immediately on your right, at a 90° angle from the downstairs door. Someone had to hold it open for me, and I managed to drive out. It was significantly worse on the journey down. Once again, someone needs to open the door for you. Then the lift is too small for the wheelchair to fit in the direction you wheel in. It is also too small to turn the wheelchair to face the right way. My helper had to lift up and push the front of my chair, manually rotating me, so that the door could close. They then had to rush downstairs to pull open the door so I could exit. The buttons to operate this contraption are a little high, and at an extremely tight angle, due to the ridiculously tiny size of this lift. They would be very hard to use if you have limited shoulder or arm mobility.
Accessible facilities: Step-free entrance
Parking & Transport
Poor
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
There is parking, I can't comment on how accessible it is. But it is right in front of the entrance. I did not arrive in a car, so I had to wheel down to the shop. This area of Truro, like most, is very steep. There is a pole in the middle of the pavement on the way down to the entrance, so I had to go in the road. This road is on a very steep slope and also quite sharply curved. I was able to make it down to the shop, but I have a powerful outdoor powerchair designed for steep slopes.
