Access Report

BiCon 2022 Leeds Headingley access report

This access report is accurate as of February 2022. The information is a combination of our observations of the site & further information from the venue (we did not have full access as the site visit was during term time).

Contents

This report will comment on different areas onsite regarding:

  • Entrances
  • lifts 
  • flooring 
  • seating
  • toilets
  • lighting 
  • acoustics 

Access Report

This page has to be quite long to cover all the information. We are happy to discuss access specifics with you by email or phone if reading through all of this is not easily accessible to you.

If you wish us to contact you please use WelfareBiconUK22@gmail.com.

Structure of Access Report

This report has not been laid out by 'disability type' as everyone's needs are different and a lot of information is relevant to people with different needs.

The report contains the following sections which you can click on to go directly to that section:

 

BiCon's Accessibility Policy

We work hard to make BiCon as accessible as possible. However, we are limited by physical venue constraints and the fact that we are a not-for-profit event with limited money and are organised and run entirely by volunteers.

  • We will do our best to be honest with you and to ensure that everyone who wants to can come and enjoy as much of BiCon as possible.
  • We will provide information primarily via this website.
  • The more advance notice we have of your needs the more likely we are to be able to accommodate them.
  • Where resources are limited we are likely to allocate them on a first come first served basis.
  • We offer opportunities to tell us your access needs on the booking form and you can email WelfareBiconUK22@gmail.com.
  • Anything you tell us will be kept in confidence.
  • As we (the organising team) have to ensure the smooth running of the whole of BiCon, any human assistance will need to be provided by volunteer attenders. This limits how often and for how long that assistance can be provided.

Assistance Options Available on Request

Document formats

  • We will provide the handbook in electronic for all and printed format if specifically requested. If asked in advance we can provide alternative formats such as large print or audio recordings.

Physical Assistance

  • We hope to be able to assist attenders with some tasks including carrying luggage to and from accommodation on arrival and departure. If you think you might need assistance we ask you to contact us at WelfareBiconUK22@gmail.com so we can work out how best to meet your needs.

Personal Assistants

  • BiCon cannot provide personal assistants but we can fund or part-fund people attending in a part-time or full-time Personal Assistant/Carer capacity.

Priority registration

  • Because registration can get very busy we plan to operate a priority registration system for anyone who has difficulty in waiting in the queues during busy periods or in being easily called by our volunteers.
  • There will be a seating area where ppl needing priority can be sit and be called through at next available opportunity and be registered as soon as the desk is clear.
  • Examples of attenders we would prioritise are those with mobility, sensory or fatigue impairments, attenders with children or anyone who lets us know they find noisy crowded areas difficult.

 

Hearing assistance options

  • Hearing assistance options including loops and vibrating pillow pads for fire alarms can be made available. Please talk to us and we'll talk to you about options.

 

Assistance Animals

  • We ask that if you want to bring an assistance dog that you let us know. This is so that we can ensure that people who are allergic to or dislike dogs can have their access needs met by being accommodated in different flats. We can provide details of assistance dog facilities on site on request. The BiCon handbook will request that other attenders do not pet assistance dogs or attempt to feed them.

 

Getting to Leeds and the Venue

All platforms at Leeds rail station have lifts between the platforms and main entrance of the station. There are LED signs and audio announcements. The station webpage has an access section with further information: 

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/LDS/details.html

Leeds Headingley station

The conductor will carry out any assistance, please wait on the platform. This station has recently benefited from the installation of lifts, level access to platform 1 with platform 2 being accessible using the lift and a short subway. You may need to prebook from the contact details on:

https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/stations/headingley

 

Buses

The nearest bus stop is on Otley Road, approx 300m uphill to the site entrance. We do not recommend using the bus from the rail or bus stations for anyone with mobility issues or who has to carry heavy bags due to a walk up a hill from the busstop. 

 

Taxis

The fare for Uber from Leeds railway station is approximately £7-£15. The fare for Uber from Headingley railway station is approximately £5-£10.Ask to be dropped off at Campus Central on the University's Headingley campus.

 

Parking at BiCon

There are about 100 parking spaces on Leeds Headingley campus with a limited amount of priority parking space in front of Priestley and James Graham buildings.  The car parks and areas reserved for priority parking are marked on maps and will be signposted at the venue with a wheelchair symbol on a yellow square.

 

We will be issuing priority permits to attendees who have an access need for this. You do not need to have a blue badge to get one of these permits, but we ask that only attendees with genuine access needs request and use the priority spaces because space is so limited. If you need access to priority parking for all of BiCon or while unloading/loading your luggage please email WelfareBiconUK22@gmail.com to arrange this.

 

General Site Plan

We will be using four main buildings and one accommodation block for BiCon 2022. 

Site map

Main Buildings:

  • Campus Central (02)
  • Priestley (04)
  • Cavendish (10)
  • Carnegie Village Accommodation (X)
  • James Graham (01)

 

Distances between buildings are no more than 350m. The whole site is no more than 400m from one end to the other. Pathways are marked on the venue map as bright pink lines.

 

BiCon 2022 Site Map

 

Accommodation

Residential accommodation is provided in Carnegie Village (24 on map), 300m from the front desk.

9 steps leading up to accomodation with handrails on both sides

We will have access to 5 wheelchair accessible rooms which you may also need if you cannot cannot step up to get into a shower. 3 of these have a carers room directly accessible. Attendees with mobility needs who can step into a shower will be allocated a ground floor room.

 

  • Entrance to flats is by an electronic key fob, with bedroom entrance with a regular key.
  • Carnegie Village is 3 storeys high. There are lifts to all floors, wide enough to contain a power chair or scooter. The buttons have raised numbers and braille.
  • There is bench seating outside the lifts.
  • Front doors are automatic. Internal doors are fire doors, so are heavy. There will be staff on hand to help open doors if needed.
  • There is a ramp or steps (both with handrails) leading up to the accommodation.
  • We have not seen beyond the front desk in the accommodation because we visited while the rooms were in use in termtime. We have shared information we have received from staff. We will continue to update this page as we get further information.

 

2 leatherette benches by the entrance to accessable ground floor accomodation & lifts

Ground Floor Rooms

BiCon uses the British convention for naming floors: 

  • the entrance level is 'ground floor', 
  • up one flight of stairs is 'first floor' and so on.

 

We need to prioritise allocation of ground floor rooms to people who need them for access reasons. Friends of ground floor and adapted flat users will have second priority.

 

If you have requested a ground floor or adapted flat and wish to be able to access friends' flats, please ask your friends to request a ground floor room as a "friend of someone with ground-floor access needs". We will do our best to ensure anyone who needs a ground floor flat gets one and anyone else's needs are accommodated where possible.

Communal social area in entrance of accomodation building. A selection of leatherette sofas and some tables.
Entrance to accommodation building with sofas

Main Buildings

Campus Central

One entrance to the building is via a dropped kerb and steps / ramp opposite James Graham building. The other main entrance we will be using is via double doors from a level path leading to the bar.

Front entrance to Campus Central with glass automatic door and glass revolving door

The front access goes via an automatic revolving door, or a wide glass door to be propped open. These go into 

  • The student hub (where we will be checking in attendees)
  • Food court (Serving food until 10am)
  • The bar (accessible via steps or lift) for evening ents 

Food court with a cafe style selection of tables, chairs and benches on a laminated floor

Platform lift adjacent to stairs leading to the bar

Benches, seating and tables in the bar with a laminate floor

All the interior doorways except the one mentioned above are wide enough for a wheelchair user using a power-chair. Most of the building is open plan spaces. All the doors in the main part of the building are wide enough for a large power chair or scooter to navigate.

 

Campus Central has standard fluorescent lighting and hard-wearing office carpet and laminate floors within. Windows do not have curtains.

 

The bar is approximately 1.1m high, it does not have a lowered part for wheelchair users. There is a section up a step on one side and a ramp on another. We will not be using the 2 tables in this area for topic tables because of restricted access.

 

Seating is mostly solid wooden chairs with padding and regular height tables, low standard padded chairs plus some large leatherette two person sofas in the socialising spaces. If you require specific seating, please talk to us in advance and we will see what we can arrange. The seating in the Food Court is Protocol Abby SE02. Our guide didn’t know the weight capacity of the seating, and it isn’t on the product website. It felt stable to me (100kg, wide hips).

 

There are three sets of toilets in Campus Central (closer to the bar):

 

Campus central accessible toilet: Toilet on wall to right of door, sink opposite door, handryer and mirror to left of door

  • a single wheelchair accessible adapted toilet with lowered sink and grab-bars. The mirror is high up. There are no covered incontinence pad bins in these. We are researching how to provide these if necessary (please specify on booking form).
  • two sets of regular toilets, one with 5 cubicles, the other with 3 cubicles and 6 urinals. Both have multiple sinks, and sanitary towel bins will be provided in both.
  • We will be providing gender neutral toilets in Campus Central.

 

Audio is slightly echoey throughout Campus Central because of hard floors. There are large windows without blinds, and fluorescent lighting.

 

Priestley and Cavendish

 

We will be using Priestley and Cavendish for workshop spaces. They have a similar setup,

 

Priestley is about 80m from Campus Central. Cavendish is about 250m from Campus Central. Between them there is a road to cross with dropped kerbs. There is priority parking at the front of the Priestley. We can ask for permission to use a parking space in front of Cavendish, but it depends on staff use. There will be parking in front of the James Graham building 220m (Priestley) or 150m (Cavendish) away.

 

Access to the buildings is by a short flight of steps or a ramp.

Side of Priestley buildting including the handles either side of the ramp

The main doorway and internal doorways were measured at 75cm which may pose navigation issues for a power-chair wheelchair user. Internal doors are fitted with door closers which may make them heavy to open for some people. There are a number of short corridors into the session rooms.

 

There are three sets of toilets in Priestley:

 

  • a single wheelchair accessible adapted toilet with lowered sink and grab-bars. The mirror is high up. There are no covered incontinence pad bins in these. We are researching how to provide these if necessary (please specify on booking form).
  • two sets of regular toilets, one with 2 cubicles (doors opening inwards and outwards), the other with cubicles and urinals. Both have multiple sinks, and sanitary towel bins will be provided in both.
  • We will be providing gender neutral toilets in Priestley and Cavendish.

Priestley toilets with 2 cubicles, one toilet door opens outwards

The flooring is laminate in corridors and hard-wearing carpet in classrooms. There is level access inside. Rooms are lit with standard fluorescent lighting and all have curtains or blinds to block out the light. Corridors are slightly echoey due to the hard floors, but classrooms have muted sound because of carpets and furniture.

 

Both buildings have lifts. We will move chairs outside lifts so those who struggle to wait on their feet for extended periods can sit. The Priestley lift has a drop-down seat inside.

Priestley lift with drop-down stool inside.
Priestley lift

James Graham

We will be using James Graham for workshop, plenary, social and performance spaces. 

 

The main entrance to James Graham (with steps) is about 200m from Campus Central. The ramp entrance to James Graham is about 20m from Campus Central. Outside, there is a road to cross with dropped kerbs. There is priority parking at the front of the James Graham.

 

There are three sets of toilets in James Graham:

James Graham accessible toilet and nappy changing area. Toilet opposite door, sink &hand dryer to left of door, nappy change platform to right of door.

  • a single wheelchair accessible adapted toilet with lowered sink and grab-bars. There are no covered incontinence pad bins in here. We are researching how to provide these if necessary (please specify on booking form).
  • two sets of regular toilets, one with 6 cubicles (doors opening inwards with limited room to manoeuvre if you have a larger body), the other with cubicles and urinals. Both have multiple sinks, and sanitary towel bins will be provided in both.
  • We will be providing gender neutral toilets in James Graham.

6 toilet cubicles with doors opening inwards & 5 handwash basins

Toilet cubicle interior wide enough for a sanitary waste bin, toilet, and toilet brush

The flooring is laminate in corridors and hard wearing carpet in classrooms. There is level access inside. Rooms are lit with standard fluorescent lighting and all have curtains or blinds to block out the light. Corridors are slightly echoey due to the hard floors, but classrooms have muted sound because of carpets and furniture. The Great Hall has thicker carpet that may limit wheelchair access. It is also echoey.

Great hall, large space with thick green carpet, a stage at one end, and circular tables with chairs around, tall windows high on the walls

Door to great hall, button-activated

Seating

The seating in the Great hall is Cavala Curvy. Our guide didn’t know the weight capacity of the seating, and it isn’t on the product website. It felt stable to me (100kg, wide hips).

The seating in the lecture theatre & classroom was unbranded.

Classroom with grey carpet, and tables and chairs.

Lecture theatre tiered seating

Things BiCon does for everyone

Quiet and Chill out space

There will be a quiet room available throughout the time that the daytime and evening spaces are open. We ask that people are quiet in here, so not noisy conversations or games.

 

In the evenings there will also be quiet "chill-out" social spaces. We ask that people not bring alcohol in these spaces. We will keep most spaces well lit throughout the event including during evening entertainments.

 

Toilets

Each public area has a single adapted (wheelchair accessible) toilet. The BiCon team will put up notices reminding attenders that this is the only accessible toilet and request that they do not abuse it. Gender neutral toilets will be available.

 

Smoking

BiCon asks that smokers keep away from paths and conference buildings and from the non-smoking picnic area. There will be a designated spot for smokers.

 

Signage

We will provide signage in large print.

 

Distances in metres

Entrance Parking Bar Main Desk Priestley James Graham Cavendish Accommodation
Entrance 20m 30m 100m 40m 260m 350m 380m
Parking 20m 10m 90m 15m 240m 330m 360m
Bar 30m 10m 80m 30m 230m 320m 340m
Main Desk 100m 90m 80m 80m 200m 250m 280m
Priestley 40m 15m 30m 80m 220m 270m 300m
James Graham 260m 240m 230m 200m 220m 150m 180m
Cavendish 350m 330m 320m 250m 270m 150m 30m
Accommodation 380m 360m 340m 280m 300m 180m 30m

 

Other information

For further information you can also check out the AccessAble website.  

 

Videos around campus:

We have some Venue videos taken around the Leeds Beckett campus during the site visit.