Venue Description

Since October 2015 we have had the privilege of taking care of a wonderful community building, renamed the Appleby Hub. Following a period of extensive renovation and repair after the floods in December 2015, we launched the Hub in May 2016. Today the Hub is used by a great variety of community groups and classes. Our flexible spaces make it an ideal venue for dance and fitness classes, art groups, meetings and events, youth groups, and countless more. The climbing wall is back in action too, with open climbing sessions throughout the year. Our weekly timetable is available on the Appleby Hub facebook page, and on our notice board on the front of the building. Nestled in amongst the Rotary second hand book shop, the Hub Cafe is becoming increasingly popular and we’ve had some fantastic feedback from our visitors. The cafe serves up homemade artisan wholefoods which we are really proud of. At the moment the cafe is open Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 3pm. All our food is prepared on the premises using local and seasonal ingredients as much as possible.

Accessibility

Appleby Hub has access for visitors with restricted mobility via the side entrance to the Hub building. The main doors into the Hall are stepped and less accessible. Entrance to the cafe is via a wide easy opening door. The door does have a slightly raised threshold but we have found that the majority of motorised scooters have been able to access the building over this. Manual wheel chairs may present more of a challenge, however, our staff are more than happy to assist with access to the building. From the foyer the cafe is on one level. A ramped floor permits access to the main hall thus avoiding the stone steps at the front of the building. A small lift (2 persons) is sited in the foyer to enable access to the first floor studios. Just off the cafe we have a generously sized toilet area incorporating an adult changing bed. Currently this doesn't have a hoist but is otherwise serviceable. Outside tables in the form of picnic benches complete the Hub facilities for those balmy summer days. The Hub is unable to allow dogs other than service dogs onto the premises. On cafe days it is advisable to pre-book an easy access table as the cafe does get very busy and not all of our tables are wheelchair accessible. Access to the books may be restricted on cafe days. Should you wish to look at the books outside cafe hours please contact the Hub to ensure that we can accommodate you at your preferred time. Generally, Mondays are better for browsing the bookshelves although this is dependent on staffing.

Accessible Performances

Currently we are unable to offer Accessible Performances

Toilets

There is an accessible toilet on the premises with step free access. Entrance at the main door to the Hub does contain a slightly raised threshold. However, motorised scooters have been able to access this without issue. For manual wheel chair users our staff are happy to assist where necessary. Within the accessible toilet area we have an adult sized changing bed. Although there is no hoist to the bed it is still able to accommodate most users. Taps on the wash basin are easy to operate being a lever tap rather than a turning tap.

Staff

All of our staff have been trained in Autism Awareness and Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults. Our staff are English speaking although we have a staff member who speaks Italian. We do not have any staff who use sign language.

Assistance dog facilities

Assistance dog exercise facilities

There is a level wheelchair friendly, wide footpath which runs from Home Farm Bridge round to the road bridge on The Sands. This is a tarmac footpath suitable for wheelchairs, scooters etc. Dog waste bins are located along the footpath and there is ample room for dogs to run off lead. In part. the footpath is adjacent to the King George playing field. Whilst there are dog bins around the perimeter here and people do exercise their dogs on the field it is currently being discouraged. The area underwent extensive remedial work following the 2015 floods and has taken a lot to restore it to the current status. It was re-seeded in the summer of 2018. Unfortunately, some users fail to pick up after their dogs or permit them to dig on the pitch and this has understandably caused conflict with the football players and other pitch users. In view of this it is best to stay on the footpath.

Other assistance dog facilities

Assistance dogs are able to gain entry to the Hub but regrettably we cannot extend this to other dogs. We do have outside seating with dog securing points and water bowls for our canine visitors. Additionally, dog treats are available on request.