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mrsmollyc

21 Oct 2025

Super multifunctional and accessible arts centre!

5

5

Date of visit: August 2025

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair

Overall Rating

Excellent

This was a really wonderful arts centre that had good accessibility. Some of my favourite things I saw here were the sari exhibit, inclusive benches, and the Changing Places toilet. There were good parking options available and you could either approach the centre by crossing the River Rea or by coming through Cannon Hill Park. Both of these options provided some really beautiful scenery! This centre is an art gallery, cinema, theatre, café, bar, all sorts! It was an incredible space. There were accessible toilets on every floor of the building and they had built a Changing Places toilet as well. The staff were all really friendly and helpful too. I would highly recommend a visit to this location!

Disabled Access In and Around

Excellent

The centre is located across a small river, the River Rea, from the main road and car park. They have a covered bridge that crosses the river and it’s a really lovely view. There are ramps and stairs on either side of the bridge. The ramps had grab rails on either side. The main entrance had automatic sliding doors which led into a porch with absorbent flooring. Then there was another set of automatic sliding doors. On the ground floor, most of the flooring was something like linoleum which was very easy to push across. Part of the first floor had some carpeting which did provide some resistance as I was pushing over it but there wasn’t much of it. Just inside the entrance was a sign saying that assistance dogs were welcome inside but other dogs were only allowed into the Outdoor Terrace. To the left as you entered, was a shop and the welcome desk which had a lowered counter. There was then a corridor with a number of accessible toilets. Next was a section that provided an area for seated eating and the food options were more substantial than the small café area that was on the right. All of the seating options in both of these areas was standard kitchen table height with chairs that could be moved. To the right as you entered, before the café, was a long corridor which was an exhibit space. When I was there it was displaying exhibits about fabrics and how they are created which was really cool. The displays were all placed really well and were easy for me to see. There was a lift towards the back of the café area which travelled to the other three floors of the building. It was quite a small lift but it had a grab rail inside and the buttons were tactile. On each floor there was an information board right by the lift which let you know what was on each floor. Past the lift on the ground floor was the bar area, the bar had a lowered counter for ordering but it was shut when we went. It seemed like it opened when they had films and shows on in their cinema and theatre. These were all closed when I went so I wasn’t able to access them. Through the bar was a set of automatic doors which led to a studio space, their outdoor performance area, and the Changing Places toilet. Through the café there was another set of automatic doors which led to the Outdoor Terrace. This had a number of different benches to sit on. Some of the benches were hexagonal tables with benches mounted onto the floor on each side. However, there was one side that had been left without a bench where wheelchair users or prams could sit. I really loved those. This area led into Cannon Hill Park which was directly behind the centre and it was beautiful. Upstairs was a gallery, which had an exhibit all about saris when I visited. It was really fascinating with lots of different types of saris, even one for skateboarding! The exhibit had lots of models to view with information to read that was placed at a good height. There were some benches available to sit on, and they also had some video information that you could watch and listen to through headphones. They did have some boxed displays with some books and other things. These displays were a bit high for me to be able to see or read what was inside from my wheelchair.

Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas

Parking & Transport

Good

I travelled to this place by personal vehicle

There are a number of private accessible parking bays available for people visiting the Midlands Arts Centre. They are across a narrow bridge from the public car park. There are 5-6 accessible parking bays there. There are also a number of accessible parking bays in the public pay-and-display car park at the front of the building. Approximately 250-300 metres from the centre are the Edgbaston Road and Midlands Arts Centre bus stops where you can get the 1, 1S and 41 buses. Around 450 metres away is the Priory Road bus stop where you can get the 41, 45 and 47 buses. The closest tram and train stations are quite a distance away. Travelling in your own vehicle or getting the bus are the best options for visiting here.

Accessible facilities: Drop-off or pick up point, Dedicated on-site parking, Public or on street parking

Accessible Toilets

Excellent

There were accessible toilets on every floor. I checked out the standard ones on the ground and lower level as well as the Changing Places toilet. The accessible toilets on the ground floor and -1 floor were almost identical in their layouts. They had a standard door handle, you didn’t need a RADAR key to access them, and the doors opened outwards. Once inside there was a grab rail on the door to make it easier to close as well as a coat hook, but it was mounted too high for me to use. There were simple twist locks inside. The toilets had space for left-side transfers with a grab rail that could be raised and lowered into the transfer space. Another fixed grab rail was on the wall behind the toilet and under the toilet roll dispenser on the other side. There was also a cushioned back rest behind the toilet. The flush was a lever mounted to the wall behind the toilet. They seemed like they were all mounted on the far side of the toilet meaning I had to reach across the back of the toilet to flush it. The sink was a small sink with a single manually operated tap (no automatic sensors). The tap was operated by twisting it, which then controlled the flow and temperature of the water. The tap had a long lever which tilted upwards at the end. Above the sink were two vertical grab rails and a soap dispenser which needed to be pushed to operate. To the right of the sink was an automatic hand dryer mounted on the wall. Opposite the sink there was a large mirror mounted to the wall. The emergency red cords were hanging freely to the floor in both of the toilets as well. Changing Places Toilet The Changing Places toilet had been built outside, in between the main building and their outdoor performance area. To access it I went through the bar area and out through a set of double automatic doors that opened outwards. There was a small ramp up to the door of the Changing Places toilet which had grab rails on both sides. I had to request the key to access this toilet from the staff. They were really helpful and swift at getting me the key and just asked me to return it to the welcome desk once I was done. The door opened outwards, but it was really heavy. I luckily had my husband with me as I don’t think I would have managed to open it on my own. Part of the problem was the way the door opened, I came off the level part outside the door and started to roll back down the ramp again. There was also a bit of a lip at the bottom of the doorway to get inside. All of these factors made it very tricky for me to open the door and enter without help. Once inside there was a grab rail on the inside of the door and a simple twist lock. There were a few coat hooks mounted on the wall to the left of the door. There was a mix of some mounted at a lower height and some at a higher height. The toilet had space for both left and right-side transfers with grab rails that could be raised and lowered on both sides too. There were also two fixed grab rails mounted behind the toilet too. A cushioned backrest was placed behind the toilet seat. The flush was mounted on the wall behind the toilet and back rest. It had two circles and I needed to press one of them into the wall to operate the flush. There was a ceiling hoist and height-adjustable bench with information and instructions on the wall by each of them. They both had a maximum weight limit of 200kg. At the head of the bench was a paper roll dispenser that was at the height that the bench opened at to make it easy to place the paper on the bench. The sink was a fairly good size and had a single tap that was manually operated (no automatic sensors) with a twist lever that controlled the flow and temperature of the water. Directly to the right of the sink was the lever that could adjust the height of the sink. Above the sink were two fixed, vertical grab rails, a small mirror and above the mirror was a small shelf. To the left, they had a soap dispenser and paper towel dispenser mounted to the wall. To the right of the sink was another shelf which was closer to where the toilet was. There was also a larger mirror mounted on the wall opposite the door, a privacy screen and a chair. There was one emergency red cord in here which was hanging freely to the floor. I found the lighting in here to be slightly off-putting. It seemed to be flickering for me, which made my eyes hurt, but my husband didn’t experience the same issue.

Facilities: Accessible toilet, Changing Places toilet

Staff

Excellent

The staff were all really helpful and there was a really good presence of people around. The building layout seemed slightly confusing at certain times but I didn’t have to go very far before I saw a member of staff who would check if I was okay. When I requested the key for the Changing Places toilet it was radioed over to the on-duty manager who went and got it and brought it to me fairly quickly and was really lovely. My husband also got some drinks and snacks from the small café, the staff were really lovely here too.