1. Our commitment
We want everyone to be able to use this website, including people who use screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice control or keyboard-only navigation, and people with low vision, colour blindness, dyslexia or cognitive impairments. We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 at level AA.
This statement applies to the Fernwick Garden Design website.
2. Compliance status
We believe this website is partially compliant with WCAG 2.2 level AA. We have designed and tested it with accessibility in mind, and the known exceptions are listed in section 4. We are a small business and not a public sector body, so the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 do not apply to us, but we follow their approach because it is good practice.
3. What we have done
- Semantic HTML with one main heading per page, a logical heading order, and landmarks for the header, navigation, main content and footer.
- A “Skip to main content” link as the first item on every page.
- All features — menu, question accordions, project filters, cookie settings and forms — work with a keyboard alone, with a clearly visible focus outline.
- Text and interactive elements meet the WCAG 2.2 AA contrast ratios of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and interface components.
- Text can be resized to 200% and the layout reflows to a single column at 320 CSS pixels wide without horizontal scrolling.
- Every meaningful image has a text description; decorative botanical drawings are hidden from assistive technology.
- Form fields have visible labels, required fields are marked, and error messages appear in text next to the relevant field and are announced to screen readers.
- Animations are subtle and switched off if you have asked your device to reduce motion.
- Touch targets for buttons and links in the menu are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels.
4. Known limitations
- Garden plans in PDF. Design drawings we send to clients are image-based PDFs and are not accessible to screen readers. We will talk you through any drawing by phone or in person, and can provide written descriptions or large-print copies on request.
- Seasonal calendar table. On small screens the planting calendar scrolls sideways within its box. It can be scrolled with a keyboard once focused, and the same information is given in text in the four season descriptions below it.
- Third-party fonts. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts. If they fail to load, the site falls back to system fonts and remains fully usable.
- Links to social media. Our pages on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Houzz are run on third-party platforms whose accessibility we do not control.
We plan to provide accessible versions of our client information pack by the end of March 2027.
5. Alternative formats and help
If you need information from this website in a different format — large print, easy read, audio or a phone conversation — or if you would like a designer to visit you rather than come to our first-floor studio, please contact us. We will reply within five working days.
- Phone: 01225 480 312 (Monday to Friday, 8:30–17:30)
- Email: [email protected]
- Post: Fernwick Garden Design Ltd, 14 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG
6. Reporting problems
If you find a problem that is not listed here, or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please let us know using the contact details above. Tell us the page address and what went wrong. We aim to fix reported problems within 20 working days and will keep you informed.
7. Enforcement
Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) at equalityadvisoryservice.com, which gives free advice on discrimination and human rights issues in England, Scotland and Wales. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (equalityhumanrights.com) is responsible for enforcing the Act.
8. How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 6 October 2026 by the team that built it. Testing included manual keyboard navigation of every page, checks with the NVDA screen reader on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, zoom and reflow checks at 200% and 400%, colour-contrast measurement of every text colour pair, and automated checks with browser accessibility tools.
9. Your personal data
If you contact us about accessibility, we will use your details only to deal with your request. The data controller is Fernwick Garden Design Ltd, 14 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG (ICO registration ZB712845).
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, erased or restricted, to object to our use of it, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. You can exercise these rights free of charge by writing to us at the address above. We will respond within one month.
For privacy requests email [email protected]. You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk. Full details are in our privacy policy.
10. Preparation of this statement
This statement was prepared on 14 March 2025 and last reviewed on 6 October 2026. We review it every twelve months and whenever we make significant changes to the website.