info@directaccess.group
UK: +44 1270 626222
Ireland: +353 (0)15079081
Ireland: +353 (0)15079081
How easily people can move through a place determines how that space performs for visitors, tenants, and within the wider local economy. It shapes footfall, dwell time, business viability, tenant retention, and the success of regeneration and placemaking programs.
In the UK alone, the disabled household market represents a combined spending power of £446 billion. However, many open space planners are unable to tap into this economic value because inaccessibility effectively locks it out of reach, leaving significant potential income unrealised.
Direct Access provides accessibility consultancy across both public sector and private commercial environments, including local authorities, combined authorities, transport bodies, regeneration delivery partners, BIDs, retail destinations, outlet centers, shopping centres, and mixed-use developments across the UK and Europe.
Friction in the journey reduces repeat visitation, which is one of the strongest predictors of long-term retail and hospitality revenue, town centre vitality, and the sustained community use that underwrites public open space investment.
For commercial operators, landlords, and developers, accessibility delivers:
For local authorities and public sector clients, accessibility delivers:
We deliver end-to-end accessibility consultancy across retail environments, hospitality estates, town centres, parks, council open spaces, and the wider public realm.
Our work spans accessibility audits, strategic consultancy, customer and visitor journey analysis, design review at concept and detail stages, public realm and green space planning support, active travel and path network accessibility review, stakeholder consultation, and staff training.
We work at single-site scale, estate-wide scale, town centre scale, park and open space scale, and across multi-location programmes.
Our Success Stories
Accessibility Consultants for Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, one of the UK’s flagship outlet retail destinations, supporting ongoing optimisation of customer journey, navigation, and inclusive access across a high-volume commercial estate.
Accessibility Leads for the Multidisciplinary Design consortia for the Woking Town Square development in Surrey, ensuring accessibility considerations were embedded into early-stage commercial design strategy.
Accessibility consultants for major international fast food operators including McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks, and Nando’s, supporting high-footfall retail environments where small improvements to access and layout translate directly into measurable gains in customer experience and revenue performance.
We have delivered public realm programmes for major local authorities, including Trafford Council, identifying targeted interventions across Altrincham, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston to improve access, connectivity, and movement through key retail zones and town centres.
Westmorland and Furness Council commissioned Direct Access to deliver a large-scale, structured accessibility audit programme across the authority’s portfolio of parks, small green spaces, and public areas. The programme provided the council with a comprehensive, comparable, and prioritised view of accessibility across the full estate, supporting capital planning, public sector equality duty compliance, and the council’s wider commitment to inclusive use of public space.
