A SUSSEX shopping centre undergoing a £85 million transformation has opened a new changing facility especially for disabled people after popular demand.

The Arndale Centre in Eastbourne revamp will result in around 22 new shops, seven extra restaurants and a nine-screen multiplex cinema between the existing site and the railway station by 2018.

Despite the ongoing works, the new Changing Places facility - complete with a hoist and adult changing bench - has now opened in the centre.

Robert and Alison Grover, whose 20-year-old daughter Mollie has complex health needs and physical disabilities, were among a number of parents who approached Centre Manager Bill Plumridge, about installing a specially adapted 'Changing Places' facility.

Robert, who lives in Eastbourne, said: "Standard disabled toilets don’t contain a hoist or adult changing bench which is needed for many with disabilities.

"They are absolutely vital for parents and carers with children with disabilities. In the past we’ve had to change Mollie on toilet floors because there hasn’t been any appropriate facility.

"Other parents and carers have the same experience and just don’t go out if they know there’s nowhere they can change their child."

Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell, who performed the official opening, described the move as 'a fantastic step forward, not just for the Arndale Centre, but for Eastbourne'.

"The lack of a fully accessible disabled toilet can be a huge problem for many with severe disabilities so this new Changing Places toilet will give more people, and families, the choice of coming to our town and enjoying activities that many of us take for granted," she said.

Arndale Centre Manager Bill Plumridge said: "Many people with severely limited mobility cannot use a standard disabled toilet and need specialised equipment and this new facility provides what is needed. We’re really pleased that such a vital facility is now available in the centre."

Changing Places was launched in 2006 on behalf of the 250,000 people in Britain who cannot use standard accessible disabled toilets.

This includes those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy as well as older people.