Access Cornwall up for national award after helping Truro and Bodmin

Six staff, 32 volunteers and a stack of venue audits carried out from the seat of a wheelchair. That is the outfit now carrying Cornwall’s name into a national awards final in Liverpool next month.

Access Cornwall, a community interest company that works to help more people get into Cornwall’s tourist attractions and hospitality businesses, has been named a finalist for the Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy Award at the Inclusive Awards 2026.

Judges picked their finalists from more than 1,000 entries.

📷Access Cornwall team and volunteers audit a venue

What caught the judges’ eye

Access Cornwall has supported 223 organisations across the region since it started in 2020. The judges praised that record, along with programmes such as Access Truro and Experience Bodmin Differently Day.

They also noted that the organisation has reached more than 200,000 people looking for accessible, confidence-building information.

Its influence, the judges said, spans councils, cultural institutions, transport, education and national forums, with the social enterprise changing accessibility across the Duchy “one door, one business, one community at a time.”

📷Access Cornwall team photo

Lived experience on every audit

Every one of Access Cornwall’s 32 volunteers and six staff brings lived experience of disability or neurodivergence. That shapes each audit, guide and partnership the organisation takes on.

Viki Carpenter, director of Access Cornwall CIC, said: “We are truly honoured to be finalists alongside some amazing companies doing such great work in their fields.

“This means so much to the whole team and also the many volunteers who are invaluable in the experience they provide when we are auditing venues.”

📷Access Cornwall team auditing a venue

The final in Liverpool

Access Cornwall will be up against organisations including Diversity Scotland and Men for Inclusion.

The winner will be announced at the Inclusive Awards 2026 at the Hilton Hotel in Liverpool on Thursday 12 November. Emmerdale actor Ash Palmisciano is hosting the ceremony.

The awards are now in their 11th year and are organised by Inclusive Companies, a cross-industry network that shares best practice and innovation on inclusion.

📷Auditing Goonhilly

Four more towns, names to follow

The shortlisting comes soon after Access Cornwall received funding to help four more Cornish towns become more accessible.

It has already worked with Bodmin, Looe and Truro. Which towns are next has not been revealed yet, although the organisation says an announcement is coming within the next week.

Other current projects include an accessibility review with 10 Cornish charities that deliver mental health support through the People In Mind partnership. The team is also working with Truro Diocese, consulting on accessibility improvements to some of the 300 churches across Cornwall.

📷Auditing the coast path

How to get involved

Access Cornwall says it is always looking for businesses, local councils and community groups or projects interested in accessibility support.

Organisations, councils and venues that want to become more accessible can get in touch at [email protected].

📷Auditing Tintagel Castle