This accessibility statement applies to www.yorkshiredales.org.uk which is managed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
We want the content on this website designed for everyone to find, read, and understand. We want this website to be compatible with assistive technologies and developed to meet the accessibility standards outlined in this statement.
There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use this website and other websites more effectively. AbilityNet provides advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:
- if you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website.
- if you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement.
- if you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.
When you contact us there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.
Alternative formats
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact us and we’ll consider your request and get back to you within ten working days.
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
For all the accessibility enquiries that we have listed, you can contact us by email at info@yorkshiredales.org.uk. Or alternatively, you can call us from 8.30 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday on 0300 456 0030.
Complaints process
If you have reported a problem with our website or asked for an alternative format, but you are not happy with our response, you can use our complaints process to register your difficulty. This helps us improve our processes. Please use our complaints process listed on this website.
Enforcement procedure
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).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliance listed below.
Non-accessible content
We regularly carry out automated tests against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. Automated tests are carried out once a week.
Some parts of the website may not work for everyone. Below are known issues we need to fix, cannot fix, or do not need to fix.
If you find something that we missed that does not work, please contact us.
Website compliance issues
Navigation
Link Purpose
All link names should be accessible by a screen reader and be descriptive enough to inform a user of where that link will take them. We continue to review descriptive links using our Acquia platform. We have provided guidance to our editors and continue to do so.
Ensure controls clearly indicate when they are selected
All controls on the page – including links, buttons, and fields – should clearly indicate when they have been selected by the keyboard.
The official requirements are complicated. A simplified version is:
- Surround the control with a solid outline
- The outline must have at least 3:1 contrast with its background
- The outline must have at least 3:1 contrast with its surroundings, or be at least 2px thick
The actual requirements allow for more variation but generally require that you calculate the perimeter and/or area of the focus area, which can be very difficult.
How to fix
Links and form controls should use a focus selector which contrasts with their unfocused state, as well as any surroundings of the focus state. We will be working with the existing (or a new) supplier later in 2025 and developing a new website – the new development will not have this legacy issue.
Insufficient alt text
Some images contain text which cannot be read by assistive technology, such as screen readers.
We have provided guidance and training to our editors and continue to do so to ensure that alt tags are added to images when added to websites.
We regularly review images that are missing tags using our Monsido platform. This work is ongoing and we can provide more information if required.
We still have some issues in relation to our Events plugin where members of the public are able to upload their own images and do not include alt tags. We will be working with the existing (or a new) supplier later in 2025 and developing a new website – the new development will have a facility to ensure that the public cannot upload images without sufficient alt text.
Insufficient colour contrast
Some images displayed as buttons on the website contain text that does not fully meet colour contrast requirements.
We will correct the contrast on these images over time as we review each page. In terms of the colour palette of the website, we change the button colours over time to use more accessible colours to ensure that the colours used are accessible. We will be working with the existing (or a new) supplier later in 2025 and developing a new website – the new design will remove all colours that are not meeting accessibility standards.
We are aware of the colour contrast issues; they are apparent only in a small number of specific areas.
Broken links and misspellings
We are reviewing all broken links and misspellings using Acquia Optimise system.
We have fixed approximately 400 broken links on the website. This work is continuing.
Issues with PDFs and other documents
Many of our older PDFs and other documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be marked up or have headings (this is the most common issue with our PDFs).
Some of our documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our planning service and forms published as Word documents. We have a programme of work currently in progress to either recreate these documents as an accessible PDF or an HTML webpage.
We have issued guidance to content editors who manage PDFs. Where possible, we are converting PDFs to webpages. We will shortly be issuing new guidance and providing templates along with training where needed to specific staff who create PDFs regularly.
We now use reusable and accessible templates for our committee’s documents following a review of the accessibility of the previous templates for agendas and minutes.
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
We aim to ensure that any new documents we publish meet accessibility standards. If there are any documents that you are unable to access, please contact us for an accessible version. See ‘Alternative formats’ above, in this statement.
Disproportionate burden
We have not identified anything that qualifies as a disproportionate burden as of yet, but we are still evaluating our sites and may update this when we identify issues.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents – some of our planning documents are provided by the Planning Portal and are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Video
Video content embedded on our website before August 2019 may not meet accessibility standards: They may not feature subtitles, audio-description or offer a written transcript.
We have been working on any video added to our site since August 2019 to ensure it meets accessibility regulations.
We use YouTube to embed videos onto our web pages and use their scripting service. We do check that the wording is compliant; however, we are not responsible for the accessibility of the YouTube platform.
Maps
Our website uses online maps. Where there is a map, we aim to provide an alternative format. If you have any issues with accessible mapping data and would like to request an alternative format, please contact us. Please see ‘alternative formats’ above.
In most cases, we use Google Maps and will continue to use it where we can.
Third-party content
Our website contains third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we endeavour to work with the third party to improve its accessibility. This may include:
- links to non-Yorkshire Dales National Park websites.
- content/functionality on our website.
- content hosted on other websites, such as social media sites.
- We are continually reviewing our third-party applications and websites.
Future Improvements
We are currently undertaking a major website redevelopment project, with the aim of launching a new website by the end of summer 2026. This new site will be built on a more up-to-date platform and is contractually agreed with our supplier to meet all relevant accessibility legislation, including compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA. Accessibility is being considered at every stage of the design, development, and content creation process to ensure the site is inclusive and usable for all visitors.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was first prepared on 3 August 2020. It was last reviewed on 3 December 2025.
This website is tested weekly using an automated accessibility tool called, Acauia (formally Monsido). This test is sent to Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority staff via email and reviewed.
This provides an overview of the Accessibility rating for www.yorkshiredales.org.uk. If you would like to see a more in-depth view of the report, please request one, and we can provide it in a format that suits your needs.
The latest automated test results as of 27 September 2025
We last reviewed the automated test carried out by Acquia in more detail on 27 September 2025. The tests are carried out to the WCAG 2.1 AA standard.
Level A compliance indicates that we have 13 issues to fix, which is a decrease from 14 issues on the previous test carried out. Many of these issues are content editor issues. These are being continuously fixed by editors.
Level AA indicates that we have 2 issues to fix, a decrease from 4 issues on the previous test carried out.
Overall, the accessibility score for the website is 98.04%. It was previously 91.07%.
The industry average is 85.38%.