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Case StudY:

Access All Areas at the Royal Albert Hall

With support from the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Royal Albert Hall, has undertaken major development work to improve its facilities for visitors and performers. Work on the Grade 1 Listed building took seven years.

Working with the recommendations laid out in the Disability Discrimination Act, the Hall has introduced many improvements including assisted hearing facilities and unisex wheelchair accessible toilets. A major emphasis has been placed on making adjustments to the physical features that could impede access for physically disabled people. Access to all areas, from the Basement to the Gallery is covered by passenger lifts, which feature tactile, and Braille buttons.

The Hall has three restaurants, all of which are now fully accessible: Located on the Circle level, the Elgar Restaurant is on two levels. With limited space available, it was decided to install an EquiLift Spira Lifting Platform. The Spira is fitted to the staircase and can accommodate a wheelchair passenger, when not in use, the Spira can simply be folded neatly away, to not impede access for other people.

The Spira lift has been manufactured in the UK by EquiLift for over twenty years, a testimony to the quality and performance of the product, it remains one of the company’s best selling products.