This accessibility statement applies to visitcalderdale.com

This website is run by Calderdale Council; we want as many people as possible to be able to use this website and have introduced accessibility features to help make your experience of using the website as easy as possible.

For example, that means you should be able to do the following:

• Zooming and Text Resizing: Users can enlarge the entire page (zoom) or just the text to improve readability, especially for those with visual impairments.
• High Contrast Modes/Colour Inversion: Browsers can switch to high-contrast colour schemes (e.g., white text on a black background) or invert colours to reduce eye strain and make content more discernible for users with certain visual conditions like colour blindness or low vision.
• Reader Mode/Simplified View: Many browsers offer a “reader mode” that removes clutter like ads, navigation, and sidebars, presenting only the main article content. This helps users with cognitive disabilities or attention deficits focus on the essential information.
• Keyboard Navigation and Shortcuts: Browsers allow users to navigate web pages using only the keyboard (tabbing through links, using arrow keys for scrolling, etc.). This is crucial for users who cannot use a mouse due to motor impairments. Extensive keyboard shortcuts are also available for common actions.
• Caret Browse: This feature allows users to navigate text content on a web page using the keyboard’s arrow keys, similar to how one would navigate a word processing document. This is beneficial for users who rely on screen readers or have difficulty with mouse-based text selection.

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

For further help AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• Some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
• Some live video streams and pre-recorded video do not have captions

We are always looking to improve accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:

Visit Calderdale

Email: tourism@calderdale.gov.uk

If you need information on this website in a different format like an accessible word document, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us on the details above.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 14 days.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Calderdale Council, is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Visit Calderdale has been tested and is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:

Issues with Cookiebot
It has been discovered during the audit there are specific accessibility issues with the Cookiebot by UserCentrics. This is a third-party widget that is not under the control of Visit Calderdale or our main web developers. The suppliers have confirmed that this issue is on their development list.

Not all the buttons on the Cookiebot are keyboard accessible. This fails success criteria WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard. A current workaround is to use the “Show Details” link. This changes the widget to a popup layout where the buttons are keyboard accessible.

The Cookiebot buttons are not focus visible at 400% zoom. This issues varies depending on the device you are using. This fails success criteria WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible. We would advise to use the website at 200% zoom when viewing the Cookiebot.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Know issues and compliance status & planned fixes:

Focus Visible – 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA): Non-compliant. The visual indicator for keyboard focus is currently missing or insufficient on various interactive elements. The development team is actively implementing a fix in early 2026.

Carousel Reflow – 1.4.10 Reflow (AA): Non-compliant. At 400% zoom, content within the carousel overlaps, causing loss of clarity and functionality. Contrast issues are also introduced due to this overlap. The development team is reviewing the carousel’s CSS and structure with a fix scheduled for October 2025 to ensure content reflows responsively.

All PDF issues – 2.4.2 Page titled / 1.1.1 Non-text content / 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: Under Review/Non-compliant. PDF documents on the website have been flagged for various issues (Missing document title, missing alternative text for images, incorrectly tagged document elements).

Colour contrast issues – 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA): Under Review/Non-compliant. Various colour contrast failures have been identified across the site, making some text difficult to read for users with low vision.

Live video 

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

We are working alongside other Calderdale Council teams and our web development agency to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. We are implementing accessibility training for relevant staff and are developing checklists and resources to help us meet accessibility requirements and improve the digital experience for all visitors to our website.

This statement was prepared on 22 August 2025. It was last reviewed on 10 Dec 2025.

This website was last tested on 16 June 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The audit was carried out by: https://www.thebiggerboat.co.uk/

The website was initially scanned to identify all pages and any WCAG 2.0 A and AA level accessibility failures. This scan generated a list of site URLs along with the detected issues.

The identified issues were then categorised by type, and sample URLs were selected for further investigation. The web development team addressed these issues.

Deque University’s console tool was used to create a final audit document by scanning the sample URLs to confirm the absence of automatically detectable issues. Certain items required manual verification, and evidence of the implemented changes was provided through code releases and live code examples.