NB. Please also note the following update post where these issues are eventually resolved satisfactorily.
Before Christmas we had tickets to attend the recently refurbished Leeds Playhouse. We have a family tradition of going with our grandchildren to the Christmas children’s shows. I read the information on the website regarding access and was concerned about the changes mentioned so on 19th November I sent this email asking for more information.
“As a disabled person I am also somewhat alarmed at the parking advice. Walking from the suggested parking across busy road etc is too a long walk for me. I normally have accessed the theatre with two walking sticks because the distance to cover from the disabled parking was close but I would need to use a wheelchair if the distance is a lot further! Is there a safe and more accessible drop off point please?”
When no reply was forthcoming I telephoned the box office for advice. I explained that as a disabled person I was concerned about the advice given regards the new parking recommendations. I was reassured that the suggested multi story parking venue was ‘just across the road’ and that there was level entry and lifts so I should have no problems. Not being familiar with the detail of the area, roads and buildings, I did not challenge this information.When I asked about a safe drop off point there was no clear answer and it was ultimately suggested that I contact Leeds city council regarding any limited access that might be available for such a purpose as it is they who own the land on which I have always previously parked or been dropped off by the previous main door. I did not have time to pursue this line of enquiry as I suspected it would entail an awful lot of being passed from one person or department to another and unlikely to result in any useful information in time for my visit. I also feel that it is the duty of the Playhouse to address this issue, which is why I am going to the trouble of writing this post now.
In due course our visit took place, and in the event caused me great distress and difficulty, as I had been concerned that it might. One cannot know for sure how accessible a route is between one location and another until one tries it. Suffice it to say it was not at all appropriate for me and had I not had my son and husband to assist me the outcome could have been even more traumatic than it transpired.
The day after our visit I received a request to give feedback about our visit via an online survey. I completed the survey online but also sent another email about it on 24th November:
“I completed this survey but it is anonymous and I would very much like to discuss various disabled access issues with someone so I would appreciate a confirmation of receipt and details of whom I should email with my comments and questions.”
Still no reply so on 2nd December I sent this direct message via the Playhouse facebook page:
“I have recently sent two separate emails to addresses at the Playhouse but have not yet received any reply. Please can you advise me who to contact regarding disabled access issues.”
I got the following reply:
“Dear Trisha you can give our Box Office team a call on 01132137700 and they will answer any queries you have. We open at 10am this morning”
To which I replied:
“Thank you but I already rang the box office before attending a performance last week to ask for help and advice. I followed the advice given but I still have issues which I want to discuss with a relevant person in management as the box office staff were unable to answer all my questions. Surely it is possible for me to send my concerns in written form to someone who is able to respond in a similar manner?”
This was marked as seen on the 3rd December. I have heard nothing more to date.
This is the background as to why I am writing this post.
I have always attended performances and events at the Playhouse, since the days of it’s first beginnings back in 1970. It was accessible then, and also when it moved to its current location, both premises having good car parking facilities within easy walking distance.
Prior to the recent refurbishment the access was brilliant for me as someone who has limited mobility. I walk with two sticks and can only manage a very few steps with difficulty. If we were lucky we could find space to park in the Blue Badge spaces directly outside, and if they were full my husband could drop me off in a safe space and then go and park in the main car park easily enough. This meant that the Playhouse was always a place I had confidence that I could access, whatever the weather, unlike the other theatre in Leeds, The Grand, which I have been compelled to almost cease visiting completely as a result of my last experience* whilst attending an opera there a few years ago.
We used to go to many operas but have had to stop because there are just too many difficulties and unknown risks to be considered. The nearest parking we could ever find was the disabled parking area for about three vehicles on Vicar Lane. If we set off to arrive really early we generally used to be lucky and get a space there and then I would take my time plodding up the hill to Upper Briggate and the theatre entrance. The area there is always quite busy and I am vulnerable to getting knocked over by careless pedestrians, but I never dared book for a performance in winter in case of windy weather or slippery walking conditions, just too risky as a fall would be very serious for me.
Anyway, back to the Playhouse issues! Here follows my account of how I fared on my recent carefully planned and prepared for visit.
Our son was lucky enough to find a disabled parking space on the first floor close by the lifts. An excellent start I thought. Down we all went in the lift, and out into the cold and wet, me taking great care not to stand or place either of my sticks on the smattering of soggy leaves across the pavements. Being a Saturday it was quite busy and as usual I need to take great care when crossing public spaces as happy and sometimes careless people can so easily knock me as they pass. Being blind in one eye they also have a tendency to suddenly appear in front of me from my blind side. I was moving slowly and stopping to rest but eventually we all reached the pedestrian crossing and joined the throng there. When the lights changed I had to keep up with the group around me as we somehow made our way to the other side of the road through a similar group of bustling people coming the other way. As we approached the main entrance I was relieved to have reach safety but once inside it wasn’t actually much better as not only were there lots of people crowding the entrance area but also the cafeteria there was already full of families with kids and pushchairs etc all enjoying their refreshments. My son and grandchildren made their way to the lift, me following as best I could. After a short wait we took the lift up to the next floor where we needed to be. There followed a long trek until at last we arrived somewhere near the entrance to the actual auditorium where I was glad to find an empty bench seat on which to regain my composure. By this time I was very dithery and had some chest pain with the stress of the whole business. I used my angina spray and felt a bit better.
After a while we asked about the location of the nearest disabled accessible toilet facility and I set off on another long walk. Then it was time to take our seats for the performance so we went to the door advised only to be told it was the wrong one, so another long walk back to the correct entrance for our seats. I’d chosen seats which I knew to be down two or three steps which I can manage, with a seat for me at the aisle end of the row. I always choose this option because my knees don’t bend normally and I usually need to put at least one leg in the aisle during a performance. The wheelchair allocated bay was immediately behind us. Anyway, one reason I mention this is because since the refurbishment it is no longer possible to put even your toes under the seat in front and the new chairs have continuous backs down to the floor, so my legs turned out to be more cramped than anticipated which will have implications for my future booking plans.
The performance was excellent and the ice creams they sell are an added delight.
Then came the return journey to our car. Obviously it was very busy exiting the theatre. We were fairly lucky not having to wait too long for the lift thankfully, as standing for long on the spot is difficult for me. The weather also was better than it could have been at this time of year, just a constant drizzle. But again it was busy. Getting to the crossing and actually crossing the carriageways is stress inducing enough anyway, but we were also blessed with a couple of crazy youths who were moving in a totally unpredictable manner. One was very drunk and kept falling over and climbing over the street furniture and coming to grief. His friend was trying to look after him. I was terrified they would lurch into me and knock me over. I managed to avoid them and entered the multi story with my family.
There was a massive queue for the lift! I didn’t fancy the wait and the push into the group which would eventually happen when our turn came to enter, or the chances of us being able to get out at the first floor when most people were waiting to go up to the higher levels. I decided I’d rather take my chance on the steps. It was a a bit of a nightmare and a long haul but I eventually reached the first floor and was mightily glad we were parked so close by the steps and lift. I was so relieved to reach the safety and comfort of the car in one piece. So much for how ‘easy’ it was to park ‘just over the road’!.
So to sum up; I won’t be booking to attend the Playhouse again. The journey from the car park is just too far, too exhausting and too stressful.
I still hope eventually to hear from someone at the Playhouse who is willing and able to address the access issues around health and safety I have outlined in this piece which pertain to that group of us people with walking mobility difficulties, including the generally frail and elderly, essentially those of us who do not have motorised wheelchairs or someone fit and able bodied to move us about. I think the management need to consider how they can arrange and allow for a safe close-by drop-off point for disabled or vulnerable people such as myself. There must still be vehicular access direct to the building to allow for scenery and cafeteria deliveries etc. so surely some allowance could be contrived, even if such a concession might need to be pre-booked or reliant on production of a Blue Badge. I am truly dismayed that the Playhouse appears not to have an adequate customer service mechanism to allow me to raise these issues with them directly, thus leaving me with no other option but to use this post to hopefully alert their attention and response.
In general I find that we, the still just about walking disabled, are a group not often catered for. By way of another example, many seats in public places such as hotels and bars, are designed to be quite low and as such unusable by me and presumably some others. In our doctors’ surgery waiting area there are three higher chairs amongst the thirty or so lower ones. I guess this is some kind of concession at least.
- The last time we used the disabled parking space (and properly displayed my Blue Badge) on Vicar Lane I incurred a Parking Ticket because we had arrived shortly before 6pm (to allow me time to reach the theatre and use the toilets etc inside before the performance started,) and were not back at the car within three hours!
PhyzzEzee 