Overview

Saturday morning trip to buy wedding suits for the two dads. This was our first experience of being back in a shopping centre since lockdown and it did feel quite strange. They have a one-way system in place, marked by arrows that most people (but not all) follow but this means only half the width is available and at times that led to congestion and crowding. There are santisers but mostly broken or empty. The accessible toilets weren't very clean... even the changing places one.

Transport & Parking

Accessible parking isn't signposted until you actually arrive at it, but we know where it is, so we were fine. There are plenty of spaces and it is clean and open, with level access through automatic doors into the centre. There are pebbled areas around the parking which are great for toileting my assistance dog before going in.

Access

In terms of the layout and design, this is a very easily accessible shopping centre. Some of the shops are a little tight in places and checkouts are mostly at the back of shops, so you have to get down narrow aisles, which is tricky with wheelchair and assistance dog. The main areas are fine though... just busy (as you might expect on a Saturday) and people aren't always very helpful or considerate. The one way system seems to make it worse rather than better.

Toilets

There are two main sets of toilets. If you go straight on from the accessible parking entrance, there are some toilets on the right, which includes a RADAR locked changing places. This always used to be spotless but didn't seem that clean today. On the other side, near Starbucks are some more toilets. There is an accessible one but it is right next to the ladies and is nearly always full. This means waiting such that wheelchair and dog completely block the entrance to the ladies. Seems a poor design really. Also, that one always stinks. Even my dog takes a sharp intake of breath!

Staff

The only staff we spoke to were in the suit shop and one shoe shop. They were all lovely... really helpful.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The one way system means you have to keep to the right. This is okay except that people walk extremely slowly at times, and it's almost impossible to pass them. So inevitably, congestion and crowding happens. There are sanitisers in most shops and outside the toilets but all the ones we tried were either empty or broken (in spite of getting there as the centre opened). I had intended to take some photos, but was a little stressed and totally forgot. Next time, maybe.