Accessibility Statement for Greater London Historic Environment Record (GLHER)

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• maps may be difficult to navigate with a keyboard alone and hard to read for users with a visual impairment, so we have provided a textual alternative if needed,
• some dropdown fields do not have accessible labels, which may present problems for screen reader users,
• the ‘Find Resource’ suggested results and some components in the Overlays and Legend tabs have no focus indicator. Users with vision difficulties and who use the keyboard for navigation may struggle to select a resource from the suggested results,
• some interactive components are not interpreted correctly as expanded or collapsed on user focus or user input, which may present problems for screen reader users,
• some minor components – Related Resources diagram - cannot be reached using the keyboard,
• some pages do not have links to guidance on how to use the site.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email [email protected]
• call 0370 333 0607
• Between: 09:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact customer services on [email protected], who will pass your request on to the appropriate team.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Historic England 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 and exemptions listed below.

Non accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

• 1.3.1 – Info and Relationships:
  
  • The ‘Find Resource’ dropdown on the Search page has no accessible name to be interpreted by the screen reader
  • The Sort Results dropdown has no accessible name to be interpreted by the screen reader.
• 2.1.1 – Keyboard:
  
  • It is not possible to reach the links under the ‘Resource Information’ tab in the Related Resources panel.
• 3.3.2 – Labels or Instructions:
  
  • Four missing form labels and four select missing labels present on date range, custom date range, results sort and Search all dates on Search page and Resource Report pages
  • One empty form label present on ‘Find a Resource’ dropdown field.
• 4.1.2 – Name, Role, Value:
  
  • The Sort Results dropdown on the Search page is not interpreted as expanded or collapsed by the screen reader.

The website fails the following Level AA criteria:

• 1.4.3 – Contrast (Minimum):
  
  • Contrast error present on the ellipsis button on numbered step navigation underneath the results on the Search page.
• 2.4.6 – Headings and Labels:
  
  • There is no heading structure on the Sign In page.
• 2.4.7 – Focus Visible:
  • Focus is not visible on any of the suggested results in the ‘Find Resource’ dropdown on the Search page.
  • Focus is not visible in several places on the Overlays and Legend tabs of the Search page.

Disproportionate Burden

GLHER uses version 6 of the open-source Arches platform developed by the Getty Conservation Institute. It is designed for cultural institutions and includes unique features for recording complex heritage inventories.

Historic England has put a lot of effort into improving accessibility in v6. With the release of v7, continued work on v6 would be a duplication of effort.

During 2023 Historic England worked with the core Arches development team to make significant improvements to the accessibility of Arches from v7.5 onwards. This will address a significant proportion of non-compliances.

We will continue to work with the Getty Conservation Institute to improve compliance of the underlying Arches platform and Historic England’s implementations based on that platform.

We are actively supporting the core Arches Development team to ensure that other Arches based applications in development are released with this compliance in place. This includes the versions of the open-source software that will be used across the wider heritage sector.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Online maps and mapping services

The map used has a number of issues within the accessibility standards, including 1.4.1 Use of Colour, 1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast, 2.1.1 Keyboard, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum).

Online maps and mapping services are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations as long as essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

It is Historic England’s intention for https://glher.historicengland.org.uk/ to become compliant. 

This system was released in September 2024 with the non-compliances above. Currently this data is only available via the Heritage Gateway, which fails accessibility and is currently being redeveloped.

We will commit to the GLHER data being published on a refreshed Heritage Gateway system in time for its scheduled launch by spring 2025. This will provide an alternative fully accessible way to search the data.

We will commit to the GLHER being upgraded to an accessible version by the end of 2025.

The Getty Conservation Institute will continue to improve the accessibility in the underlying Arches platform. More information on their policy and roadmap can be found on the arches project website:

https://www.archesproject.org/accessibility/

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22 February 2023. It was last updated on 9 September 2024.

This website was last tested in September 2024. The test was carried out by Historic England. All pages which form part of the public facing application were tested.