Birling – a small village with a big heart

Birling is a village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England, about seven miles west of Maidstone. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 430 increasing to 437 at the 2011 Census: 224 male and 213 female. It is south-west of the nearby town of Snodland and only 37 miles away from the capital.

The origin of the name 'Birling' is unclear, some sources believe that it signifies 'Bærla’s family' with the 'ing' portion of the word coming from the Old English '-ingas' suffix meaning family or followers. Other sources mention Birling and other place names with similar spellings with the definition: 'place of the descendants of the cup-bearer or butler'

Although there is no real mention of the village of Birling pre-Norman Conquest, it features in the Doomsday Book which was written in 1086. At the time it was written, there were 30 households, 12 acres of meadow and pasture 50 cattle. It also mentions the All Saints church, but major developments on the building were made around 400 years later. Around this time, a vast proportion of Kent and the surrounding areas was in possession of Odo of Bayeux, Earl of Kent. Odo was the half brother of William the Conqueror.

Accessibility statement for Birling Parish Council

Website information

This accessibility statement applies to the Tunstall Parish Council website:

https://www.tunstallparishcouncil.gov.uk/

This website is run by Tunstall Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website, regardless of their abilities or the technology they use.

For example, you should be able to:

• Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using your browser or device settings.
• Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen.
• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
• Listen to most of the website using a screen reader, including recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver.

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

How accessible this website is

We know that some parts of this website are not fully accessible. We are working to identify and address accessibility issues so that everyone can access information about the Parish Council and its services.

The known accessibility issues are detailed below under Non-accessible content.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact the Parish Council.

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 07769 254176

Please tell us:

• The web address (URL) of the content you need.
• The format you require.
• Your name and contact details.

We will consider your request and aim to respond within 7 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page, or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the Parish Council using the details above.

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.

If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We do not have a parish office, but can arrange an inperson meeting at the local church hall.

If you need assistance accessing Parish Council information, please contact us and we will do our best to help.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Birling Parish Council 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-compliances listed below.

Please note: This compliance statement should only be published once the council has confirmed that this status accurately reflects the website's current accessibility.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Keyboard navigation

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that some parts of the website cannot be navigated entirely using a keyboard.

This may make it difficult for people who cannot use a mouse to access certain menus, links or other website features.

This may fail WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

We will ask our website provider to investigate and resolve these issues.

Navigation and finding information

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that there is only one way to find information on the website.

We will review the website navigation and consider whether additional ways of locating information are required to meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.5 (Multiple Ways).

Content displayed on hover or focus

Our existing accessibility statement identifies issues with content that appears when an item receives keyboard focus.

This may make it difficult for some users to access or dismiss additional content.

This may fail WCAG success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).

We will ask our website provider to investigate and resolve these issues.

Page structure and ARIA

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that ARIA markup is not currently used on the website.

The absence of ARIA does not automatically mean a website is inaccessible. However, we will review the website's page structure, headings, labels and interactive elements to ensure that information and relationships are communicated correctly to assistive technologies.

This review will consider WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), where relevant.

Other content requiring review

We will also review the following areas to identify any further accessibility problems:

• Images and alternative text.
• Colour contrast and text readability.
• Links and buttons.
• Keyboard focus indicators.
• Forms and error messages.
• Mobile navigation and responsive design.
• Parish Council agendas, minutes and other PDF documents.

Any confirmed issues will be added to this statement, together with the relevant WCAG success criteria and our planned timescales for resolving them.

Disproportionate burden

The Parish Council will assess whether any accessibility issues relating to older documents, including PDFs, would constitute a disproportionate burden under the accessibility regulations.

Where content cannot reasonably be made accessible, the Council will consider providing the information in an alternative accessible format.

We will not assume that all PDF accessibility issues are exempt or constitute a disproportionate burden without carrying out an appropriate assessment.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Certain third-party content and specific types of documents may be exempt from the accessibility regulations.

Any exemptions relevant to the Tunstall Parish Council website will be identified following an accessibility review.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 2nd June 2026.

It was last reviewed on 1st November 2026.

The website was last tested on 2nd June 2026 by internal review.

The Parish Council will review this statement regularly and update it as accessibility improvements are made.