Overview

Highbury Roundhouse is a community centre which hosts activities for all ages. There are regular weekly activities and the spaces can also be rented out. I attended a Staying Well day organised by Islington Age UK. The step free and very accessible new building opened in February 2023.

Transport & Parking

The centre is located in a side street directly off Holloway Road. The two nearest tube stations are Holloway Road (which does not have step free access) and Highbury and Islington (which has step free overground but its Victoria Line is not step free). From the station it is almost a level walk with a slight upward slope just before the Highbury Roundhouse. There a several buses that stop along the Holloway Road or very close by at Highbury Corner.

Access

The entrance to the centre is not obvious. It is only because I been emailed a photo that I knew what to look out for. From the street there is a gate with a small sign. There is a short drive that leads into a car park, and on the right hand side is a pavement for pedestrians. Partway down the drive there is tactile paving which guides you over the driveway to the opposite side. There then gates. The one for pedestrians was wide open and the one for vehicles was closed. Then there is a short pathway leading up to the building entrance. The main entrance doors are double doors. There is a push button on the right hand side (my photography skills chopped this off in my photograph). The doors open out into a very spacious foyer. There is low level information desk on the left hand side. To the right there is the entrance to a spacious café which is self service with free standing tables and chairs. In the foyer are the toilets, with the first one you come to being the accessible toilet. Directly in front is the main hall with double doors, that were already opened when I visited. The main hall is spacious and when I visited was laid out with rows of chairs. The staff had very thoughtfully put some laminated signs on some of the rows of seats for people with mobility disabilities where the rows were extra wide. I did not visit the rest of the centre but I think it is all step free. There is also a dance studio, early years centre and learning room.

Toilets

The accessible toilet is located in the foyer. It has a manual door. It's quite spacious, clean and tidy. It has plenty of grab rails. There is an emergency cord, which I had to unhook.

Staff

There were staff at reception to welcome visitors. As the event was organised by Islington Age UK it was there staff I interacted with and they had put a lot of thought into the event, from organising speakers, activities, stalls, lunch and refreshments. I also met the staff who had prepared the food and they were very friendly.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

This is a brand new and very accessible community centre. It's a welcoming space, with friendly staff. It was a very pleasant discovery.

Photos