Please wait. Working. Please wait. Working.Ability Plus runs the Shop Mobility for Bluewater from within the yellow welcome hall accessible by the Lower Plaza Car park and situated at the end of the walkway of Burger King, which is located by Marks and Spencer on the lower mall.
Ability Plus provides the hire of mobility scooters, powerchairs and manual wheelchairs for guests with disabilities and long-term health conditions from their hire fleet. The store also has for sale scooters, wheelchairs, power chairs, stairlifts and an
extensive number of daily living aids to assist around the home.
Booking is strongly recommended; we suggest booking at least 48 hours in advance in order to ensure availability.
Opening hours are as follows:
Monday: 10am - 5.30pm
Tuesday: 10am - 5.30pm & hires till 8pm*
Wednesday: 10am - 5.30pm & hires till 8pm*
Thursday: 10am - 5.30pm
Friday: 10am - 5.30pm & hires till 8pm*
Saturday: 9am - 5.30pm
Sunday: 11am - 5pm
Hires are organised in 3 or 4 hourly slots
*Evening hires to 8.00pm must be pre-booked
Customers are able to book multiple sessions during the day if needed.
Scooter Hire costs for 4 hours:
Pre-Booked 3 hrs £7.50*/9.00
Pre-Booked 4 hrs £10.00*/12.00
Un-booked 3 hrs £9.00*/10.80
Un-booked 4 hrs £12.00*/14.40
*if customers qualify for VAT exemption
Wheelchair hire costs
All circumstances £4*/£4.80 for 4 hours
*if customers qualify for VAT exemption
Regulars classified as 5 or more prior hires can have a 20% discount
Out of Centre hire is available and can be discussed in store.
You are not required to bring formal identification unless booking an out of centre hire, which would be a
driving licence.
Please ring 01322 476 550 to make a booking.
Bluewater was designed and built to exacting standards to meet the needs of our guests with disabilities. The services we provide aim to ensure that all guests are able to enjoy a great day out without any difficulty.
We have over 300 reserved accessible parking spaces which are all located close to the entrances throughout the many car parking areas. There are many lifts throughout the centre for access to different levels. There are disabled toilets located in all of our toilet areas, these are in the upper Welcome Halls and the lower Winter Garden and lower Village. Please note, guests need to bring their own straps/ harness.
Our Changing Places (high dependency units) are located in the lower Village and by the lower yellow welcome hall. If you need access to these, please call Bluewater Helpcentre on 01322 623 423 or speak to one of our hosts.
Please note that the HDU by the lower yellow welcome hall requires a radar key to access it. If you require assistance with this, please call Bluewater Helpcentre on 01322 623 423 or speak to one of our hosts
Bluewater works in partnership with AccessAble who provide essential, detailed information on accessibility that enables greater choice and independence for anyone with access requirements. The information provided is reviewed and updated annually. For more information click here.
The Government’s Disability Confident scheme is designed to help employers recruit and retain disabled people and people with health conditions for their skills and talent. Bluewater was named the first shopping centre in the UK to achieve Level 3: Disability Confident Leader status from the Department of Work and Pensions during November 2018, in recognition of its commitment to providing an environment that is inclusive and accessible for all staff.
Not all people with hidden disabilities require assistance. But if you do, wearing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard discreetly indicates that you need additional support or just a little more time.
Should you require a lanyard please visit the Concierge desk just outside M&S.
The lanyard is currently FREE of charge and you may retain it for use either at repeat visits to Bluewater or for use at other venues that recognise the scheme, such as major UK airports, Sainsburys, railway stations and sports venues.
Bluewater offers a warm welcome to all our guests and it’s important to us that everyone can enjoy the shopping, dining and leisure available. For some children and adults, who have hidden disabilities, this can be more challenging. That’s why we’ve introduced two sensory backpacks which are available to hire free of charge from our Guest Services Desk.
These sensory backpacks are particularly suited to our autistic guests and are packed full of items to assist children and adults. They include:
We will be asking users of the sensory backpacks to return them after use to our Guest Services Desk.
If you'd like to find out more details in advance of your visit, please contact our Guest Services team on 01322 475 475 or by emailing bluewater.reception@mitie.com.
SignLive is a Video Relay Service that allows our deaf and hard of hearing guests to connect with an online BSL Interpreter during opening hours. The BSL interpreter will communicate with the member of staff you would like to connect with and sign their responses back to you. You can access this service by scanning our SignLive QR code, which can be found around the centre, or by speaking with a member of our staff. You can also access SignLive via the app or a web browser.
