This report covers accommodation, external areas, BiCon’s bar and workshop spaces. The Access Report is also available to download as a .pdf.
If accessing this report is difficult for you, we haven’t answered your questions or you would prefer to contact the team with your direct questions please contact us by emailing enquiries@bicon2012org.uk.
You may also want to read our page Attendees with Physical or Mental Disabilites which outlines what kind of adjustments BiCon may be able to provide upon advance request.
BiCon’s Spaces
BiCon’s daytime space is in a building called Student Central. There is level or ramped access provided into Student Central and we hope to know more soon. The Green accommodation is arranged in linear blocks stretching out from the North East of Student Central.
BiCon’s accommodation is being provided at The Green which was newly built at the start of this academic year. It is comprised of a lot of wide open level access spaces. I recommend watching this video which shows some areas that BiCon is likely to use.
Level access is provided to all of The Green’s facilities, and the laundry is provided with washing / drying machines at a suitable level for wheelchair users.
There is accessible parking at ground level to the North East of Student Central and within close vicinity of the accessible accommodation.
Daytime spaces
Student central daytime space is spread out over three floors which have 0 (Zero) at the top and 2 (two) at the bottom. A central lift shaft runs between all the levels.
Level 0
All lecture theatres, seminar rooms and services can be accessed via level access.
There is one ‘Changing Places’ accessible toilet which has an adjustable height bench and hoist and a second additional accessible toilet. There is an emergency alerters system available on request
from the university.
Level 1
Level 1 has a central open space which all the offices and services are arranged round with seating for people to use. There is level access to the outside of the building through the rear doors. A small incline then leads to accessible parking spaces.
Accessible toilets are available alongside a shower with a seat and handrails.
Level 2
Level 2 is where all the bars and other facilities are. Bar areas are separated by manual double doors with level access for most of them. There are a number of accessible toilets. There is access
to a side entrance from a sloping road which leads to accessible car parking.
Within the AMP bar there is a platform lift between the lowest level and the lobby area and patio door which requires card access. BiCon is negotiating with the venue about access to cards for our
attenders however this may not be possible and venue staff may have to be contacted when users wish to use this.
The patio area is also accessible via a sloping road and alleyway down the side of student central.
There are both gendered and non-gendered toilets available in Student Central. Non-binary gendered people should not use the accessible toilets as gender neutral unless they also have specific access needs.
Overview Videos
You may find watching these two videos useful to get a sense of the space:
1) The video we’ve linked to on our accommodation pages showing internal and external spaces.
2) University of Bradford’s “Living at the Green” video showing some of the outdoor spaces
Routes between spaces
The Green accommodation can be accessed via step free routes from Student Central daytime space via a slight slope. All the routes have firm stable surfaces of various materials, textures and colours depending on purpose and use. The main access routes have a minimum width of 1800mm to allow wheelchair users to pass comfortably. Footpaths are well lit and of adequate width with tactile paving surfaces at appropriate places.
External signage on the campus is consistent, clear and legible with contrasting colours used throughout.
Standard and En suite Accommodation
Entrances
All entrances to the accommodation have level access and are sheltered from the weather. Doorways are at least 850mm wide. The cover strips between external and internal floor levels are all less than 13mm high.
Entrance doors themselves have well designed handles to ensure ease of opening for people with dexterity impairments. They are partially glazed with contrasting designs to ensure high visibility. Accessible flats have electrically operated doors.
Corridors and doorways
Internal doorways are at least 870mm wide and contain “Vision Panels” to increase natural light and provide warning to users when entering or leaving a room. All corridors are kept obstruction free and should be wide enough to allow for unrestricted access to all areas. The en suite bedrooms generally have an increased corridor width of 1240mm at doorways to allow for improved access when entering at right angles to the access route.
All study bedroom doorways have doorway widths of at least 770mm which is wide enough for wheelchair users if required. 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”. There is a limited number of ground-floor rooms available, but we will try our best to accommodate you. There is ample room in the kitchen and living area for guests.
Stairways
Internal stairways have handrails on both side and are 900mm wide in standard and 1000mm wide in en suite. There is a maximum of eight (250mm high) steps with contrasting edging between each landing. Upper floors of cluster flat floors can also be accessed by a DDA compliant lift.
Interiors and lighting
Internal areas have been designed with visually impaired people’s needs in mind. Flooring is all hard wearing linoleum or plain carpet. Walls are painted in plain colours with edgings and skirting boards painted in contrasting colours to assist in differentiation between floors, walls and doorways. Carpets, curtains and soft furnishings have been designed to make the acoustics as pleasant as possible.
All the windows are large to maximise natural light and work together with artificial lighting. All windows are designed to be easily controlled from the bottom of the window at user level.
There is toilet provision on the ground floor of the accommodation which has fixtures and fittings usable by ambulant and wheelchair using disabled people. The toilet compartments open outwards and have a clear opening of 770mm.
Accessible accommodation (flats of 4)
Accessible flats have electrically operated doors. There are at least 6 fully accessible bedrooms suitable for wheelchair users. 2 of these have adjacent rooms for carers. These rooms can be accessed from the main stairway and lift areas and are part of a grouping of with 2 other standard bedrooms sharing kitchen/living facilities.
The kitchen has height adjustable worktops, movable storage units and other layout adaptability options.
The en suite shower rooms are wheelchair accessible with a choice of left or right transfer (please let the BiCon team know if you have a preference ASAP).
In the bedrooms the electric sockets are between 400mm and 1000mm from the floor and have coloured background panels to make them identifiable against the wall.
Emergencies and Alerting systems
Accessible rooms designated for disabled users have pull cords to activate emergency assistance systems located above the head of the bed just above the skirting on two walls of the en suite shower room.
There is signage explaining who will be alerted and how in more detail in the bedrooms.
If the alarm is activated a “reassurance” sound and light alert will go off in
- the occupant’s room,
- the adjacent carer rooms
- in the corridors
- floor lobby of the flat.
The alarm is also connected back to the security office. The alarms can only be deactivated reset from within the bedroom it was activated from.
Refuges (safe areas to wait if unable to evacuate without assistance from emergency services) are provided at upper levels of all stair lobbies, with call points linked to the security office. Refuge spaces are also present near all lift and stairways.
All WC and shower rooms can be opened from the outside by security in the event of emergency.
Security for the site are located on the ground floor of block D.