Overview

This was our first visit to this venue. The booking process, direct with the venue, was simple and stress free. The main floor is level, with no rake whatsoever, and for a seated performance the removalable seats are bolted together and fixed to the floor. The wheelchair spaces, up to twelve for most performances, are at the end of the rows. For our performance we were at the end of row K, on the right side. When I viewed ticket availability a week before our visit, all accessible tickets were sold out, but I didn't see any other wheelchairs. The normal view of the stage was very good for my wife. I did expect though that when folk ahead of us stood up her view would be seriously impaired. It was but, as the stage was higher than some, it wasn't as bad as some other venues; at least she coul still See Ricky and Lorraine's heads, just. See photos for her view. The location of wheelchair spaces in this and similar venues is a great bugbear of ours. Perhaps the venue operators are more concerned about access and easy egress in an emergency that the view afforded to the wheelchair user, but I think they could still locate wheelchair users in the front row without compromising safety; York Barbican is an ideal example of that. If you are attending a performance when everyone will remain seated you will have a great view of the the stage. However, if you are attending a concert where it is anticipated that folk will stand up, Deacon Blue in our case, you will assured of an extremely poor view for most of the performance. Further details of access to the venue, parking opportunities, toilets, and staff are as below.

Transport & Parking

The road layouts near to the venue have recently been altered dramatically, so your sat-nav may not be accurate. A major benefit though is the provision of plenty of on-street disabled parking spaces near to the venue. There is room for about ten vehicles on Hall Ings, not far from the car park for the Broadway shopping centre. The closest parking to the venue is on Bridge Street, directly opposite, with capacity for six vehicles, providing folk park properly. There is also room for three vehicles in a disabled bay behind the Great Victorian Hotel. Please not that disabled parking at the described locations are subject to a five hour limit.

Access

We didn't use the lift from the main foyer as it is small and, as they often are in similar venues, likely to be abused by non-essential users. We accessed the building via the ramp outside on the Bridge Street side (see photo); it was very easy and perfect for egress, avoiding the crowds

Toilets

The accessible toilet is on the other side of the stalls from where we were. Access is not by a radar key but, as there is a staff member nearby, it is less likely to be open to abuse. It is a decent size, with sufficient room for a wheelchair user to manoeuvre, with plenty of room for a carer. On our visit the toilet seat was broken, so that requires attention.

Staff

All staff we encountered were professional and extremely welcoming and helpful.

Photos