In News

Tourism for All would like to pay tribute to Margaret Hickish, who passed away last week.

Margaret’s may not be a widely known name, but her commitment to inclusion particularly with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and at Network Rail, were hugely influential.

Friends and fellow disability campaigners have been paying tribute to the woman who worked to ensure that the 2012 games and later, Britain’s railways were as accessible as possible. In the lead up to the London Olympics, she spent years consulting with disabled people and organisations to make sure that the stadium being built in Stratford and the Olympic Park were as accessible as they could be. She worked as the Olympic Delivery Authority’s accessibility manager, and both she and the organisation were praised for their work in ensuring that the environment was accessible for both those taking part in the games and those coming to watch.

Margaret was also a consultant for the London 2012 organising committee, going on to become Paralympic Advisor to Boris Johnson, who was London Mayor at the time.

Outside of the Olympics, Margaret worked on various projects to improve the accessibility at London’s South Bank as well as at Heathrow. She left her post before the games took place, citing concerns with the accessibility budget.

Following this she joined the team at Network Rail as their access and inclusion manager. In this role, she set about making seventeen of Britain’s biggest stations, as well as the depots and offices used by staff as inclusive as possible. During her time with Network Rail, she introduced the network’s Built Environment Accessibility Panel, which was created to advise on access issues and was made up of disabled people and organisations.

In 2014, Margaret was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Art for her contribution to inclusive design. This was followed in 2016, by being included on the New Year’s Honours List, when she was made an MBE.

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