Our aim
The standard we work towards
This website aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA. The guidelines describe how to make content perceivable, operable and understandable, and usable with assistive technology, for people who use screen readers, magnification, speech control or a keyboard in place of a mouse.
That is a target and not a certificate. New pages and new content can introduce problems, so this statement describes the position now, and the site is looked at again when anything significant changes.
The pages are written in plain language with short paragraphs and headings that say what follows, because clear writing is part of accessibility. Roofing terms such as verge, flashing or underlay are explained where they first appear.
What the site does
Features built in
- A skip link at the top of each page lets keyboard users jump past the menu to the main content.
- The navigation menu works from the keyboard, closes with the Escape key and tells assistive technology whether a submenu is open.
- Text and background colours were chosen for contrast, using the navy and white scheme of the logo, and are checked against the AA level.
- Headings follow a logical order, and links say where they lead.
- Text can be enlarged in the browser, and the layout adjusts to narrow phone screens.
- Movement on the page follows the reduced motion setting on your device.
- Images that carry meaning have a text description, and purely decorative ones are marked so screen readers pass over them.
- The telephone number, email address and WhatsApp button appear on each page, so you can pick the way that suits you.
Testing
How the site is checked
Automated accessibility checks run on each type of page at desktop and phone widths, including the open menu, and what they find is fixed. Automated tools catch many faults but not all of them. Problems with how a page reads aloud or how focus moves between controls may remain until somebody reports them.
Known limits
Where the site may fall short
The enquiry form is supplied by a separate service and loads inside the page. Its code is outside our control, so it may not reach the standard of the rest of the site. If you find it hard to use, skip it: telephone, email or message us instead, and we will take the same details that way.
The area maps are visual. Each place they show also has a page of its own that gives the council, the distance and the direction in text, so the map is not needed to follow any of it. The Google profile map sits behind a button and loads only when you press it.
Other ways to reach us
If something does not work for you
You can ask for any information on this site in another form, or tell us about a barrier, using the email address or telephone number at the foot of this page. WhatsApp is a third option if written messages suit you better than calls. Tell us the page, what you were trying to do and what got in the way, and the assistive technology you use if you are happy to say.
Reports are read by a person and used to improve the site, and a barrier you describe is treated as a fault to fix. If you are not satisfied with our reply, the complaints procedure explains the next step.