Access at The Art House

INFORMATION FOR DISABLED PEOPLE VISITING THE ART HOUSE

The aim of The Art House has always been to build studios with the highest possible level of access for people who face a wide range of different disabilities, reflecting our core ethos of inclusion. This document attempts to list simply and in detail all that you need to know as a disabled person visiting The Art House. If you need to know anything further prior to your visit, please get in touch.

Click here to download the Art House Access Guidelines Document 'Creating Inclusive Access'

General

The Art House is situated in the centre of Wakefield. It is very close to Wakefield Westgate Station and the main bus routes.

All three spaces in our small car park are reserved for Blue Badge holders. There is also a pick-up and drop-off point.

Doors into the building are on automatic openers.

Within the building all fire doors are held open on maglocks – no need to struggle to open fire doors.

Our corridors are 2 metres wide, giving lots of room for people to pass in wheelchairs, with guide dogs or carrying a wide load.

All the doors in the building (apart from store-rooms) are at least 90 cm. wide. Doors have simple D-shaped handles.

In the community studio we have an A1-bed electrically-operated press.

In the meeting rooms and community studio we have chairs with and without arms.

We have a Quiet Room available to all users of the building. You can use this room if you need to rest after travelling or if you need to rest during the day. There is a settee and a supportive chair.

The support of a technician is available on request to help you with tasks such as lifting and carrying, etc.

Assistance dogs are welcome, but due to our city centre location there are virtually no grassy areas near to The Art House.

The nearest park is about half a mile away.

People with wheelchairs or mobility difficulties

There is level access into the building from the car park.

There is access to the main Drury Lane entrance via a shallow ramp.

We have two lifts to all floors. One is a standard eight-person lift and the other is very large (17-person). We are working on converting these to evacuation lifts so that everyone can leave the building in case of emergency.

We have unisex lavatories with four large accessible cubicles and three smaller cubicles with grab handles.

We have a very large ‘changing rooms-style’ lavatory with a ceiling hoist, a Clos-o-Mat, a shower bench, shower and disposal facility for human waste.

We have a mobile hoist for use anywhere in the building, but hoists must be used by your own support worker as our staff are not trained to use the hoists.

We have a shower wheelchair that can be used in any of the shower rooms.

The Art House has an electric wheelchair and a ‘booster scooter’ which can be borrowed by visitors. Please enquire for further information.
We have height-adjustable work tables in the community studio and short-term studios.
All communal sinks are at both sitting and standing level.

In the Flat

We have a three-bedroom flat with a shared living/kitchen area.
The flat consists of:

One twin-bedded room with very large wet room with shower

One single room with bathroom with shower over the bath

One single room with wet room

The two single rooms have an interconnecting door that can be open or locked shut. There is a ‘call buzzer’ from one room to the other.

Both wet rooms have a removable wooden shower bench.

All bedrooms have ‘Smart Homes’ technology. You can open and close the window or curtains, operate the TV and unlock the door from the bed or anywhere in the room.

One single bedroom has a ‘Bakare’ profiling bed.

All mattresses are memory foam and all bedding is made of synthetic material.

There is a movable ‘over-bed’ table to be used in any room.

In the kitchen there are two sinks, one at sitting and one at standing height.

There is a settee and two chairs with good back support.

We have ‘elephant feet’ to raise the settee or one of the beds.

Blind or visually impaired people

All our information can be provided in large print, in Braille, by email, on disk or in any other format on request.

The Art House has a unique ‘helping band’ guide rail that runs throughout the building. Symbols on the band alert you to doors, stairs, lifts, etc.

Signage within the building is large and has good contrast.

Deaf or hard of hearing people

All staff have Deaf Awareness Training

Our receptionist is trained in British Sign Language to Level 1 and is studying for Level 2.

Our Director has some basic knowledge of BSL.

We have vibrating emergency alarms for Deaf visitors.

All bedrooms in the flat have under-pillow vibrating alarms. All bathrooms in the flat have flashing beacon alarms.

Our reception desk is fitted with an induction loop.

Our large meeting room is fitted with an induction loop.

We have a portable induction loop for use in other parts of the building.

Our minicom number is 01924 377310.

If there is anything else you need to know about visiting The Art House please ask.

Follow this link to DisabledGo for further information and images of our access facilities

If you need very specialist equipment it may be necessary to bring this with you, but please talk to us before you visit so that your visit is as enjoyable as possible.

Click here to download the Art House Access Guidelines Document 'Creating Inclusive Access'