Race to the Finish! MovemanSKG Wins Another Contract

A disabled lift from movemanSKG is allowing wheelchair users visiting Newmarket Racecourses to access a raised viewing area to watch horse races.

As a regular customer of movemanSKG, Newmarket Racecourses has always embraced the needs of the less able. A few years ago it installed a Prestige platform lift to allow visitors with mobility problems to access two upper-floor restaurants. So it comes as no surprise that, when the racecourse needed another unit, movemanSKG won the contract.

Newmarket Racecourses in Suffolk is the UK's historic home of horse racing, with a wide range of training yards and key organisations. Newmarket Racecourses has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Between them they host 9 of British racing's annual Group 1 races.

What the racecourse needed was a short-rise platform lift to transport wheelchair users from one of the lawns to the July Course's grandstand viewing area. This meant the unit had to be suitable for external use.

movemanSKG recommended its Prima Plus, which has a special protective coating to resist weathering and prevent corrosion. It carried out the installation quickly and efficiently. The finished platform lift travels 1000mm between the two levels.

Tony Cox, Project Manager at Newmarket Racecourses, is delighted; "We have an excellent relationship with movemanSKG and Otis, its parent company. Our new Prima Plus meets our requirements and is fitted with a key system to prevent misuse. This is essential as the lift is publicly accessible and everyone knows children love to play with such devices!"

"I found movemanSKG's staff to be courteous and professional. We dealt with Carl Bartlam primarily. He visited us and confirmed Prima Plus would fit in the allotted space. A first rate service all round."

Prima Plus lifts 300kg and does not require a pit, minimising building work and making it a cost-effective access solution. Wheelchair users access the lift via a shallow ramp, which folds up and forms a wheel-stop when the unit is operating. A gate prevents people stepping off the edge when the platform is at the lower level.

"As we are open to the public we class as a service provider and therefore have responsibilities under the Equality Act," says Gemma Charrington, Head of Operations at Newmarket Racecourses. "This means we need to make our premises fully accessible to people with mobility problems. Newmarket Racecourses fully supports the Act and we are constantly evaluating routes in and around the two courses to improve facilities. On this occasion, we felt a platform lift was the natural choice."

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http://www.movemanskg.co.uk/disabled-lifts/