Shaping Spaces in Herefordshire: The Neurodiversity Access Project

News - 4 September 2025

At Healthwatch Herefordshire, we believe everyone should feel welcome, comfortable, and included when using community spaces. That’s why we’ve launched the Neurodiversity Access Project – a new initiative focused on understanding and improving how local environments work for neurodivergent people.

Neurodivergence includes experiences such as autism, ADHD, and sensory processing differences. Everyday places like shops, GP surgeries, cafés, and leisure centres can sometimes feel overwhelming or difficult to use. We want to work together to change that.

Why This Matters

We believe the people best placed to lead this work are those with lived experience. That’s why the Neurodiversity Access Project is shaped and guided by neurodivergent individuals. Your voices, ideas, and experiences are at the heart of it.

Together, we aim to:

  • Identify barriers in community spaces
  • Recommend realistic, practical changes
  • Share findings with venues, decision-makers, and the wider public
  • Inspire positive action that benefits everyone

How You Can Get Involved

We want this project to be community-led – and that means we need you. If you are neurodiverse, care for someone who is, and want to support a more inclusive Herefordshire, there are lots of ways to take part:

  • Share your experiences of using local spaces
  • Join our accessibility audits of shops, health and wellbeing spaces, cafés, and community venues
  • Take part in workshops and discussions to help shape our recommendations

  • Help spread the word so more voices are heard

     

Together, We Can Make a Difference

The Neurodiversity Access Project is about more than highlighting challenges – it’s about finding solutions. By working side by side with neurodivergent people, community venues, and local leaders, we can make Herefordshire a place where everyone feels they belong.

👉 Want to get involved? Contact us today to share your experience or register your interest.

Email: kim@healthwatchherefordshire.co.uk or amy@healthwatchherefordshire.co.uk

Or call us on 01432 277044

You might also be interested in

Local Healthwatch urge people to sign national petition to save the independent patient voice.

Recent government proposals for the NHS include abolishing Healthwatch across England — removing the independent body that makes sure the public’s views are heard on health and social care.
If this goes ahead, it will be the first time since 1974 that the public will be without an independent champion to speak up for their experiences.

The plans also suggest moving to a digital-first feedback system for NHS and social care services. While technology can make giving feedback easier for some, it risks excluding many communities and silencing those already less heard.
Your voice matters — and it should be heard.
Local independent services are rooted in their communities. We believe they are well placed to support the 10-Year Health Plan by offering constructive challenge and helping co-produce solutions with those with the greatest health and care needs. Trusted, independent services that listen to local communities are essential to improving health and social care. We listen without fear or favour, reaching those whose voices are too often ignored. That is why local Healthwatch bodies across England are asking everyone to get involved by signing our petition.
News

131 Local Healthwatch Services Unite to Defend the Public Voice

An open letter urges the government to rethink plans that threaten the independence of local Healthwatch services.
131 local Healthwatch services across England, including Healthwatch Herefordshire, have come together to express strong opposition to government proposals that could bring public voice functions under the control of local authorities and NHS bodies.
News