Festival Place will turn its tower purple this November to show its support for Purple Tuesday.

The tower will glow with purple light from Tuesday, November 1 to signal the Basingstoke shopping centre’s support for the national awareness day, which aims to promote inclusivity and accessibility for customers with physical and hidden disabilities.

Centre music will also be turned off all day to help create a calming shopping experience for people with sensory difficulties.

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Festival Place director Neil Churchill said: “We continue to work hard to make sure Festival Place is accessible for everyone, and our involvement in Purple Tuesday will help raise awareness of the need for all sectors to improve their customer experience.”

Festival Place says it has worked hard on its accessibility, with various measures in place to make visiting the retail and leisure destination a better experience for those with extra needs.

These include:

- A car park that is suitable for all visitors, with more wider spaced bays – marked in blue – for disabled drivers

- Detailed access guide created in conjunction with national disability organisation AccessAble, which uses facts, figures and photographs to help people plan their journey to and around the centre. The guides cover everything from parking facilities and hearing loops to walking distances and accessible toilets

- Quiet hours, which run from 4pm - 6pm on Wednesdays, and 9.30am - 10.30am on Saturdays

- Braille signs, which can be found in the lifts, by each floor number and by the Church Street entrance to Festival Place

- Ear defenders for children, available at the Customer Lounge

- Sunflower lanyards, which indicate to staff that the wearer may need additional support, help or a little more time.