GAIL'S Bakery
Gail's Bakery appointed us to carry out detailed access audits at five representative locations. Their goal was to improve the level of inclusive design and accessibility at their bakeries by understanding existing barriers, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Project overview
GAIL’s is a British bakery and coffee shop chain with 170 stores across England and places a strong emphasis on community engagement and sustainability.
Until now, GAIL’s hadn’t done any specific audit or assessment into how accessible their stores are for their disabled customers and as such lacked any form of accessibility data.
They wanted to change this and improve the level of their inclusive design and accessibility at their bakeries, so approached Proudlock Associates to undertake access audits across several of their typical stores.
Their goal was to understand existing barriers, identify opportunities for improvement, and create a list of changes that could be applied across their other bakeries.
What the work involved
Between December 2024 and January 2025, we carried out detailed access audits at five representative GAIL’s locations: Reading, Golders Green, Wokingham, Newbury and Thame.
These stores varied in layout, age and condition. Some were listed buildings; some were newer sites. Some were large spaces; others were smaller. Some had internal steps; some had external steps. This gave us a good idea of the challenges likely to be found at other bakeries.
Each access audit followed the requirements of Approved Documents M, K and T, and considered the reasonable adjustments required under The Equality Act 2010.
The access audit covered:
- Car parking, set-down and pick-up points
- Approach routes and visual identification of the store
- Entrance doors and thresholds
- Circulation spaces and aisles
- Counters, till and payment access
- Internal doors
- Internal ramps, lifts and stairs
- WC provision – both general and wheelchair-accessible
We also assessed:
- Internal surfaces
- Signage
- Lighting and acoustics
- Means of escape for disabled people
- Building management
- Communication systems (hearing enhancement systems tested, audio / visual displays / announcements reviewed)
- Legibility of layouts
- Furniture accessibility (inside / outside)
- Shelf / fridge reach ranges offered
- Labelling / price tags
This comprehensive approach reflects how we carry out all our access audits and ensures any physical, sensory and intellectual barriers that may pose an access problem for disabled people are identified.
We had excellent engagement from the GAIL’s team. Staff with lived experience of disability were invited to highlight any issues they had around inclusive design, such as no single sex toilets, or insufficient space for parents/carers with buggies or prams.
This helped ensure our recommendations were both realistic and user focused.
Issues identified
While each site varied, we did identify some common issues which could create potential barriers for disabled people.
- Limited internal space was a challenge in several bakeries, especially where circulation routes were narrow or furniture layouts reduced manoeuvrability.
- Single wheelchair accessible WCs were shared with baby change facilities, making them busier and less available when needed.
- Noise levels and acoustics inside busy coffee shops create a potential barrier to some people.
- Labelling price tags were sometimes quite small, and the information around allergy information could have been larger and clearer.
Our key recommendations
The access audit identified a range of achievable improvements, including:
- Expanding and reconfiguring WCs to create larger accessible facilities
- Providing additional space for prams and buggies
- Widening aisles and improving layout flexibility
- Installing acoustic panels to help control background noise
- Improving visual contrasting
- Installing inclusive seating/table design
- Installing hearing induction loops.
As many of GAIL’s bakeries are in listed or heritage buildings making changes to the entrances presents a particular set of challenges. We gave advice on potential solutions, including:
- Integrated lifts
- Temporary ramps
- Managed plans of assisted access
We also offered additional services to help GAIL’s develop other solutions with the local authority heritage team.
What simple improvements could other stores make?
The recent publication of RiDC’s Re-Imagining Retail report into the barriers disabled consumers face in the retail sector has highlighted accessibility is not a ‘nice-to-have’, but a business essential.
Some simple improvements which would help make many coffee shops and restaurants more accessible, and therefore inclusive, include:
- Improving queuing or developing a digital ordering system or ticket app to allow faster ordering from a seat
- Offering disability equity training to staff
- Providing good access to menus and pricing ensuring they are always easy to read and consistently displayed.
Conclusion
We were delighted to be part of GAIL’s first step to embedding accessibility and inclusion within its brand. By commissioning sample audits and engaging openly with the findings, they have shown a genuine commitment to understanding the barriers disabled people face and improving customer experience.
By gathering data and expert recommendations, GAIL’s now has a clear starting point to enhance the experience of all their customers. As improvements are implemented this will not only give their customers confidence that they are working to make future accessibility improvements but will also demonstrate they are an inclusive and welcoming company.