Accessibility Statement

Mobility

Entrance

The main front entrance on Alfred Street has a narrow pavement in front of it, and there is a dropped kerb providing step-free access. The front door is a heavy glass double door which can be propped open, 129cm total.

The Hall fire exit/ back entrance, into the Bear pub beer garden on Blue Boar Street, has several steps, and there is a ramp available here, kept inside the hall. This is also regularly used, but steeper, and independent manual wheelchair users may prefer to use the front entrance. The door is 97cm wide, but 79cm accounting for the handles.

Sanctuary (main worship space)

There is a set of lighter wooden double doors into the sanctuary (main worship space) which can be propped or held open, 142cm total width.

The seating is made up of rows of chairs, which can be adjusted to allow a wheelchair user to sit within the rest of the congregation. Some chairs with fixed arms are available, please ask a steward if you need assistance finding one or if you wish to use one in a different position. There is also a sofa at the back of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary has hard flooring. There are two steps up to the altar/ lectern space, however, the communion table is set up down the steps, and there are handheld/ lapel microphones for speakers and readers who cannot access the lectern.

Church Hall

To access the Hall (main social space) from the sanctuary, there is a hallway space with a door at each end. The door into the sanctuary is 135cm wide, the door into the church hall is 94cm wide. There is room to close either door before opening the other. The church can also be accessed directly from the vestibule (entrance hallway) via the same small hallway. The door into the vestibule is 76cm wide.

The church hall has hard flooring.

Other spaces

There is a balcony, accessed via a single, narrow, flight of stairs, but this is very rarely used. The stairs do not have high contrast markings. They do have a handrail.

There are two smaller meeting/ committee rooms, each with a door 75cm wide. The corridor to the meeting rooms has a door 81cm wide. The Thomson Room requires a sharp right turn as you go into the corridor. As one door obstructs another here, wheelchair and other mobility aid users may require assistance to close the door to the corridor before entering the Thomson room. Seating in these rooms is flexible.

The vestry (office/ where the minister or worship leader usually gets ready before the service) has an 83cm wide door, and a standard toilet.

Toilets

Toilets are to the left of the entrance, and accessible via one set of lightweight double doors during the service. There is one self-contained accessible toilet. The toilet is left-hand transfer, with an 84cm gap between the toilet and the wall. There is a drop-down grab rail in the gap, on the right of the toilet as you sit on it. There are fixed grabrails on the wall on the left of the toilet as you sit on it, however due to pipe boxing the toilet is not directly against the wall.

There is a lowered sink, with lever tap. There is a red emergency cord. The doorway is 92cm wide, and the toilet is to the left of the door. The door opens outwards. The total room width is 137cm, but there is a boxed in pipe along the floor meaning the floor width is 134cm. The total room length is 170cm, giving a total floor area of 2.3m2

Parking and getting to the church

Alfred Street is cobbled, with flat, rectangular but not very well-maintained cobbles. The pavement is too narrow to use. Alternatively, Blue Boar Street, where the back entrance is located, is tarmac with a wider pavement, although the paving slab pavement is not very well maintained. Both are generally passable in powered wheelchairs, independent manual wheelchair users/ those with small-wheeled rollators may need some assistance as per usual considerations for cobbles.

There is a Blue Badge space on Blue Boar Street next to the Bear beer garden. There are also Blue Badge spaces on Oriel Square, approximately 2 minutes’ walk (490ft) from the main entrance. There is also on street paid parking in Merton Street and King Edward Street.

Hearing

There are hearing loop systems in both the sanctuary (main worship space) and the Hall. They work better towards the edges of the room, so it is a good idea to sit at the sides rather than in the middle.

Microphones are used to connect to the hearing loop and for amplification. The volume should be at a comfortable level, if you are struggling, please speak to a steward.

The service is currently live-streamed to YouTube, which provides live auto-captioning (with varying levels of accuracy). It may be possible to connect to the livestream via a phone or other device during the service, in order to be able to use the auto-captioning (although of course there will be a slight delay).

Music is usually unamplified, on organ or piano.

As a small church, we do not have a BSL interpreter. However, if you were to bring someone to interpret for you, we would be very happy to assist with optimal locations. Please also feel free to sit wherever necessary to lip-read speakers; ask a steward if you would like a reserved seat e.g. at the front.

Sight

See also “Mobility” for information on layout and parking/ getting to church.

For a Sunday service, the sanctuary (main worship space) usually has a consistent arrangement with rows of chairs. If a reserved seat would help you, please speak to a steward or an Elder (feel free to ask any member of the congregation to direct you to us).

The order of service and hymns are on a screen with high contrast as well as on paper. Please let us know if a different size/ style of font would enable you to access this in future, and please also ask if you would like a large-print order of service.

Guide dogs are very welcome.

Sensory processing and mental health needs

See also “Mobility” for information on layout and parking/ getting to church.

The Hall is available as a second space during the service.

The services are generally calm in nature, and music is unamplified (see also Hearing). There is space at the back of the sanctuary (main worship space) in which you are welcome to move around, and there is also a sofa corner.

The services generally follow a similar structure each week, with a Communion Service once a month. If you would like to find out what a typical service looks like before you come, you can watch one of our livestreamed services on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@stcurcox

After the service, we usually go into the Hall for a cup of tea or coffee/ cold drink and a biscuit, for conversation and fellowship. There’s usually plenty of space so it doesn’t get crowded, and you are welcome to join in, observe, or to leave after the service if you prefer.

 Other information

The steward for each service is usually the person who greets you on the way in. The Elders are a group of people who help with the pastoral and practical needs of the church, and are also very happy to help, especially for anything that can’t be solved there and then. If you’re unsure, someone in the congregation will be able to point you in the right direction.

Service dogs are welcome.

If you have any questions regarding accessibility during church events, please contact Gordon and Adrian on churchsecretary@saintcolumbas.org

For questions regarding building hire, please contact our building manager Jill Bentley on facilitiesmanager@saintcolumbas.org