Overview

PIcturehouse Finsbury Park is located in North London and is one of a chain of Picturehouse Cinemas. It is a a modern seven screen cinema, new and purpose built and opened in 2021. Inside there is a cafe and bar. Staff are very friendly and extremely helpful. This is one of those places that on paper tick all the accessibility boxes, i.e. step free, accessible toilets, hearing loop, captioned and relaxed screenings. Staff support is exceptional. However, what puts me off from going back is the wheelchair user space is nothing more than a pen, see photo. This is also my first review with my rollator, which will feature in accessible toilets and lifts to give you a better idea of size (I hope). To see my complaint and response from Picturehouse, please see additional information.

Transport & Parking

The cinema is immediately next door to Finsbury Park Station's City North Place/Goodwin Street exit, which is step free. Come out of the exit and turn right and it is right next door. It's also very close to the small bus terminal at Wells Terrace which serves W3, W7 and 210 buses. It is a very short walk from Seven Sisters Road where several buses stop.

Access

ACCESSIBILITY PAGE ON THEIR WEBSITE The website access page is a bit confusing as it currently only refers to screens 1, 6 and 7. I was going to see a film in screen 5 which had no access information about it. I later found out that when the cinema first opened only a couple of the screens were open and this what is reflected on their website. the cinema sent the updated information through to central office but it has never been updated on the website. I have commented on Screen 5 access below and staff have told me that the layout is the same style in all screens. LEVEL 0, ENTRANCE LEVEL There is step free access from the pavement into the cinema and throughout the cinema. There are two sets of double entrance doors and one has a push button to open. You then come into Level 0, with a central foyer, counter and cafe (sorry got home and realised I had not photographed this). There are free standing tables and chairs in this area. There are two set of manual double doors, which were already open, which you go through to visit the screens. There are no screens on Level 0. LIFT There is a single lift which takes you either up to Level 1 or down to Level - 1 or Level - 2. The lift has double doors and I was able to comfortably fit myself and my rollator plus one person in it and rotate my rollator so it was facing the doors on the way out. The lift has audio announcements. LEVEL - 2 My screen was on Level - 2, and I did not visit any other parts of the cinema. Exiting the lift the door into the corridor was manual, so to was the door into the screen. I was in Screen 5. The corridor was not particularly spacious, but I did not pass a lot of people so it was ok. SCREEN FIVE This is where my film was on, but apparently each screen is the same. There is a single, manual entrance door. This brings you into the auditorium next to the screen and Row A. ROW A Row A is the only step free seating in any of the screens. However, as people have complained that Row A is too close to the screen, the cinema no longer sells tickets for Row A. Therefore any seat you purchase in the cinema is not step free. ROW B Row B is only accessible by a couple of shallow steps with a handrail on one side. It appears that for every row towards the back there are an additional 2 steps, see photo. When I phoned up their dedicated access line I was told that the seat I purchased in Row B was step free, it was not. The information on their website that "All screens are accessible to customers with limited mobility including wheelchair users" is not true if you require step free access and are not a wheelchair user. WHEELCHAIR USER SPACE In Screen 5, which is a smaller screen, there was one wheelchair user space. It is an awful space. I can only describe it as being like an animal pound. It is right next to the entrance and is step free. On one side is the wall of the screening room and on the other side there is a metal barrier, next to the end seat in Row B, see photo. It is disgusting as you have to raise your arms over the metal barrier if you wanted to reach the person next to you. The design shows a lack of empathy at best and a total disregard to disabled people's quality of life. If you are a wheelchair users it is not easy getting cosy with your partner or what about a child who is distressed and needs comforting if you have a metal barrier between you. There is a metal barrier at the back, so it is like the disabled person is caged in on three sides. It is inhumane. It is othering. It is treating wheelchair users like animals confined to a pound. It is so horrific. SIGNAGE This was a bit of a mixed bag. I could not see any sign for the lift when I came out of the screen and I ended up walking the corridor up and down. Turns out the lift is next to the stairs, but I am not sure how well they are signposted. The accessible toilet door on Level - 2 is of dark brown wood and has a slightly darker brown wood wheelchair user and baby changing facility logos on the door. I am not sure how good the contrast is for people with visual impairments who could easily walk past it, see photo.

Toilets

I used two of the accessible toilets. Both toilets have a manual door and share space with a baby changing facility. Both toilets were clean, tidy and well maintained. there were plenty of grab rails and an emergency cord that reached the floor. LEVEL 0 The accessible toilet is in the main foyer/ cafe area. It requires a RADAR key, and there is a notice on the door saying this is due to anti-social behaviour and that staff have access to a key. I noticed someone request the key from a member of staff and the member of staff was able to immediately open it. This was one of the better accessible toilets I had been in. It was L shaped but roomy. My rollator fitted in easily. I was able to turn comfortably. The bins didn't block the transfer space. If you have a powerchair user and you require space to turn I would opt for this toilet. LEVEL - 2 The accessible toilet on Level - 2 was smaller. There was still space, but I had been spoilt with the Level 0 accessible toilet, so it felt tighter, but it accommodated my rollator and I had turning space . The location of the baby changing table was a bit of a problem as it was down when I entered and it really reduces the space. A sign reminding people using it to close it up after use would be helpful.

Staff

DEDICATED ACCESSIBILITY LINE Due to the lack of helpful access information on their website, I had to phone their "dedicated accessibility line". It's a London number and there is also Text Rely. The helpline is only open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, every day except Christmas Day, not the opening times of the cinema. When I called I got through quickly and the member of staff appeared helpful. They told me that row B had step free access. It was only when I got there I realised that there were 2 steps, albeit shallow up to row B. I was also told that the cinema would be able to accommodate my rollator. CINEMA Staff were exceptional. When I went to go into the screen, I asked were I could leave my rollator and Clay came with me to my screen (Screen 5), asked me if I was ok leaving my rollator in the wheelchair user space and we had a positive chat about disabled access. I also had a very positive chat with the woman who came in at the end of the screening. When I got to the ground floor, I asked to speak with the manager and I had a long chat with Tony, who like all the other staff were very sympathetic and shared my concerns about the wheelchair user space. He took notes and I also asked for the contact details of head office, he got me the details. The staff were really outstanding, so proactive in assisting and very friendly, making that part of the visit so good. Thank you to Clay and Tony for your excellent customer care.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Things I liked, the very helpful staff and the film was great. It was a documentary style film so only has limited cinema realise, hence going there. Having been and loving Picturehouse Central in London's West End, this was very disappointing. It seems it has been designed without proper thought or care to disabled people's access, enjoyment or engagement. The image of the wheelchair user pound is still in my mind the day after, and I did not even sit there. It was a place my rollator was parked. I can't recommend a building which is designed to treat disabled people like animals. I am going to be writing into Picturehouse's main office and submitting a complaint. To remedy the problem of rubbish disabled access that: 1) The wheelchair user space is redesigned and the barrier between the area and the adjacent seat is removed. 2) Given that the front Row A is not used, due to it being too close to the screen, that it is removed. Then the flooring is adjusted so that Row B can have step free access. I personally won't be going back with its current layout. This is a brand new building with a purpose built cinema and this should never have been allowed. DISAPPOINTING RESPONSE FROM PICTUREHOUSE RECEIVED ON 10/03/2025. Dear Tina Thank you again for your email. We do apologise for the lack of accessibility information publicly provided to Finsbury Park Picturehouse on our website. Screens 2, 3, 4, and 5 were out of operation for some time last year during maintenance work, but after they were reopened it seems the online information was not updated. Our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused. Following your visit, the manager you spoke to has been working to update that information is now online: https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/finsbury-park/accessibility We have double checked and the wheelchair spaces available have step free access. If you have any trouble finding a step-free route to a wheelchair space, please ask one of our cinema team for help and they'd be happy to assist you. The wheelchair space has barriers around it for the health and safety of our other audience members seated behind and beside it, to prevent the risk of tripping or falling into that space during the darkness of a movie. I am sorry to hear you felt uncomfortable with the barriers, but they are a safety requirement that we've needed to adhere to. I am glad to hear that the staff were helpful to you, and have passed on your comments to the management and operations teams for their consideration. If you require any further assistance, or have any other queries, please do let me know. Kind regards, Alastair Customer Care Manager The upshot is: The wheelchair user space will remain penned in. Step free access for non wheelchair users will remain unavailable. I won't be going back there.

Photos