Accessibility Statement - NI Coastal Observatory

This website is run by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Northern Ireland. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible:

• Low contrast issues have been identified
• it's hard to see which item has been tabbed to on the main menu bar, as the blue outline is low contrast against the navy background
• there is no 'skip to main content' to bypass the links in the main menu
• headings do not use standard heading elements, so may not be identify the page structure as efficiently
• the text of some buttons may be considered ambiguous - such as 'Click to learn more' or 'Visit'
• some PDF documents associated with the service are not fully accessible.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the DAERA Helpline who will direct you towards the correct branch or division.

• email daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk
• call 0300 200 7852

You can also contact the DAERA Helpline if you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.

If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact DAERA via Text Relay using the Next Generation Text Service (NGTS). Making a call from a textphone dial 18001 + number. Making a call from a telephone dial 18002 + number.

There are also various Text to Speech applications available to use

If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, call or email us for directions.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 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 contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

DAERA 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• Suspicious alternative text - Ensure that the alternative text for the image or image input provides a succinct, yet equivalent alternative to the content and function of the image. (1.1.1)
• A nearby image has the same alternative text - Ensure that the alternative text for each image or image button is appropriate while removing unnecessary redundancy. (1.1.1)
• No heading structure - Provide a clear, consistent heading structure, generally one < h1 > and sub-headings as appropriate. (2.4.6)
• Suspicious link text - Where appropriate, reword the link text so that it is more descriptive of its destination when read out of context. (2.4.4)
• Redundant title text - In most cases the title attribute can be removed, otherwise modify it to provide advisory, but not redundant information. (2.4.2)
• Zooming and scaling must not be disabled – Ensure does not disable text scaling and zooming. (1.3.1)
• Scrollable region must have keyboard access – Ensure elements that have scrollable content are accessible by keyboard. (2.1.1)
• Document should have one main landmark – Ensure the document has a main landmark. (1.3.1)
• Page should contain a level-one heading – Ensure that the page, or at least one of its frames contains a level-one heading. (2.4.6)
• All page content should be contained by landmarks - Ensure all page content is contained by landmarks. (1.3.1)
• Very low contrast – Increase the contrast between the foreground (text) color and the background color. (1.4.3)
• Links must have discernible text – Ensure links have discernible text. (2.4.4)
• Elements must only use supported ARIA attributes - Ensure an element's role supports its ARIA attributes. (4.1.2)
• Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children - Ensure elements with an ARIA role that require child roles contain them. (4.1.2)
• < ul > and < ol > must only directly contain < li >, < script > or < template > elements – Ensure that lists are structured correctly. (4.1.2)
• ARIA dialog and alert dialog nodes should have an accessible name - Ensure every ARIA dialog and alert dialog node has an accessible name. (4.1.2)
• Change on input occurs on links throughout the application that do not inform the user that they will open in a new window. (3.2.2)
• When text is resized to 200% it causes text to overlap the DAERA logo on the pop up when accessing the maps web page making it difficult to read. (1.4.4)
• Focus indicator is visible however it can be difficult to identify against certain components. (2.4.7)
• No 'skip to main' link has been provided. (2.4.1)
• When tabbing, there appears to be items receiving focus which are not shown to the user.(2.4.3)

Disproportionate burden

• Not applicable

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

• Not applicable

PDFs and other documents

• There are some non-compliances in PDFs linked to from this website, including:
  • No primary language
  • Failed tagged content
  • Failed tab order
  • Failed bookmarks
  • Failed alternate text
  • Failed table structure (rows, headers and regularity)
  • Failed lists
  • Failed headings (nesting)
• Whilst DAERA link to, but do not own some of these documents, those documents which DAERA owns will be checked and corrected.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

DAERA is actively engaged in improving the accessibility of its applications. As part of our 'UX Checklist', we require developers to design software with accessibility compliance built in. In those circumstances where compliance cannot be met, reasons for this should be documented, along with steps for addressing issues. We also endeavour to carry out user research to ascertain user requirements and conduct usability workshopping before launching new applications.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 25 January 2024. It was last reviewed on 13 August 2025.

This website was last tested on 13 August 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by DAERA Digital Services Division.

We tested the following pages:

• Home
• About
• Our Data
• Map Viewers
• Reports
• Topographic LiDAR
• PDF - Coastal_Heritage_Resources_Mapping_Project_2022_-_DAERA

We chose to test those pages which were most commonly used, and most representative of the general functionality and layout of the web application. Sample pages were tested for code compliance using the Axe and WAVE testing tools. The pages also underwent manual testing to ensure they adhered to the four Accessibility principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust). We also test using NVDA screenreader, and Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker (where applicable).

The full accessibility test report can be made available on request.