Party at the Palace at Linlithgow

Great improvement made to disabled facilities for PATP2017 Event, there were a few issues we encountered but easily improved on. My wife and I attended in wheelchair with carers assisting. Drop off - Day 1 We got drop off at the official drop off point, this was a bit far and a struggle for the carers pushing the wheelchairs. The official pick up point was Tesco, which was more that double the distance, a hard push for the carers. Through negotiation on Day 2 we got drop off at the entrance to the event and pick up the same place which was great for the carers pushing the chairs. Disabled area great position and the cordoned off area worked well, no body was standing in front of the barrier and blocking view. View platform - We were there early both days and position on the viewing platform, made all the difference to us. A slightly wider platform would help with moving and access the platform. Saturday was full. Toilets - An improvement from last year. But the toilets were more for ambulant disabled use. Wheelchairs user found it difficult to get in and use. Need to check with the toilet provider what they class as a wheelchair accessible toilet. The Toilets were positioned on a slope which made it difficult to get in and you more rolled out. Suggest for next year positioning to toilet to be turned around doors at top of slope to make access easier. Stewarding - there was always a steward on hand to manage the disabled area and toilet access. Friendly and helpful to all. Great touch providing a complimentary programme and chairs on request. We are aware that it is a farmers field and will have access difficulties. This year we felt much better catered for and more inclusive. A few tweeks with the toilet position turned around and wedged level and a shorter distance or ground tracking to the toilet will certainly make our PATP experience the full 5 star. Plan to be back next year.

The arrangements made for wheelchair visitors for this event, are very poor. The viewing area is at the very back of the areana, too far from the stage. There is no raised platform for wheelchairs. Very difficult to watch the acts because of people standing in front, which blocked views. Along with a path in front of disabled area used for people to move from one area to another. No High Dependency Units on site for those that cannot use portable facilities, which were not very hygienic and were used by other members of the public. There was no disabled parking set aside, nor was there a disabled drop off point. There should be a temporary surfacing placed on the ground, leading from the parking areas to the disabled area, as it is an uneven ground. As this event has been run for 3 years and it gets bigger every year, the organisers should look to other outside events, to see how they run for disabled people.