Do you have lived experience of disability and are you passionate about making sure everyone has equal access to events and activities in public spaces? 

Crystal Palace Park is recruiting up to 8 people with lived experience of disability to join our Access Advisory Group. You will help steer our decisions and activities, making sure the park is a space for everyone. 

We’re committed to building a diverse group with a variety of experiences and backgrounds. Whether you’ve been involved in accessibility projects before or not, if you have a passion for making spaces more inclusive, we’d love to hear from you.

Who are we looking for?

We’re looking for people aged 18+ who have a lived experience of disability and live in or around the Crystal Palace Park area (London Boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark).

How much time is involved? 

• Attend a minimum of 6 meetings a year (around 2 hours each) a mix of in-person and online
• Be part of the group for at least a year, with the option to stay for up to two years
• Each member of the group will have the opportunity to attend the Community Advisory Group, which is also attended by a member of the Young Advisory Group.

What will you do?

• Share your thoughts on how we can make Crystal Palace Park more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities
• Help us make sure our events, activities, and website are as accessible as possible; your lived experience is key to us getting it right
• You’ll provide feedback on events, activities, and park plans
• Support evaluation to ensure the park’s activities are continuously improving and meeting the needs of people with disabilities.

Access 

We have an access budget as part of this project. Here are some examples of things we can cover the costs of:

• Application support to apply for this opportunity - please get in touch with us
• If you have a support worker or personal assistant, they are welcome to attend meetings with you, in person or online
• Reimbursement of out of pocket travel costs to and from the Park up to the day fare of a zone 1- 6 travelcard.

Payment for your time

There are up to 6 meetings in total, each up to 2 hours, that will be paid at London Living Wage.

How will we select group members?

• We will have a panel consisting of Crystal Palace Park Trust staff after the closing date
• We will talk through each application and make a decision together to select up to 8 applicants
• We will consider diversity of members including a range of different access needs or barriers faced. We will also consider gender balance for the group.

The meetings

• The meetings will take place in Crystal Palace Park and online
• The Senior Community Engagement Officer and Senior Community Programmes Manager will attend the meetings to provide support
• We will agree meeting times as a group once recruitment has finished. We anticipate that meetings will take place during working hours or evenings as agreed
• We will ensure that any meetings which take place in Crystal Palace Park are wheelchair accessible and full information about meeting spaces will be communicated to the group beforehand.

What will happen in the meetings?

We will send you some information before each meeting, as well as the questions we would like to ask. At the meeting we will talk through these questions and take a note of feedback and suggestions for improvements.

How to Apply

Interested? We want to hear from you! 

Tell us why you want to be part of the Access Advisory Group and how your lived experience can contribute to the work we’re doing.

You can apply via our online application form with an option to upload a 2 minute audio clip answering the application questions if you would prefer. All applications will be considered equally.

We plan to hold informal discussions via Zoom or Microsoft teams across the 24th to 28th March which will include the Senior Community Programmes Manager and the Senior Community Engagement Officer. We won’t be able to offer informal discussions to everyone who applies but we will provide feedback on applications if it is requested. 

Deadline: Sunday 16th March 2025

For more information, or if you have any questions, email us at volunteer@crystalpalaceparktrust.org with the subject Access Advisory Group.