Accessible Horsham District scheme snowballs

Edition: July 2026

Have you heard of the Snowball accessibility app?

Dragon’s Den viewers may recognise this free‑to‑use app, which helps people find accessible venues such as restaurants, cafés, bars and other local businesses. Snowball supports users to plan enjoyable, stress‑free visits by providing clear, practical accessibility information in advance.

Thanks to the support of our Enterprise team, the app is going from strength to strength locally. Many businesses across Horsham District have recently joined, helping to build a clearer picture of how disability‑friendly our high streets really are.

Mapping our great local businesses

Enterprise team member Simon has been visiting businesses to support them with their Snowball accessibility assessments. These reports give visitors a helpful overview of what each venue offers, as well as how close it is to other local facilities.

Simon has already assessed most cafés across our market towns and villages as well as ensuring Council‑owned venues and facilities are included. We recently caught up with him and talked about rolling out the scheme in Henfield where a local project had already brought together community members to share access information.

By working collaboratively, we helped align many of these venues with the Snowball app, making that information easier to find for visitors who have additional access or sensory needs.

Simon commented:

The businesses I’ve visited have been fantastic. Having a comprehensive and consistent picture of accessibility can make a real difference for residents and visitors alike. Many businesses have also benefited from simple ‘quick win’ suggestions identified during assessments, such as installing ramps or providing staff training to help support customers with hidden or visible needs – changes that can help them welcome even more customers with confidence.

Learning from personal experience We were also pleased to speak with Leah, a local resident living with a chronic illness who reached out to us last year. Her experience and insights helped to launch this project. She explained how difficult it can be to plan trips out:

“Often it’s not just that places aren’t accessible, it’s that the information isn’t available beforehand, which makes it hard to judge whether a visit will be manageable.”

This is not an isolated issue. In parts of the District, some 16‑17% of residents identify as disabled, with a further 7‑9% reporting long‑term health conditions. When accessibility information is missing or hard to find, residents can feel excluded and businesses can miss the opportunity to serve customers who want to support them.

Making access information easy to find

This initiative helps address that challenge by giving people one place to find clear, reliable venue information before they visit.

Snowball includes accessibility and sensory ratings, reviews, maps and details of facilities, helping people to plan with confidence.

We’re also proud that our council‑owned venues are now displaying their accessibility window stickers and certificates, showing their commitment to being inclusive and welcoming spaces.

Level up your days out

You can download the free Snowball app for iPhone and Android here: https://company.snowball.community.

Find out more

If you’re a local business owner and would like to speak to the team about joining the app or arranging an accessibility visit, please contact us at business.support@horsham.gov.uk