There are four on-site accommodation rooms with two bathrooms. The on-site accommodation can be accessed through the side door which is a code locked heavy fire door with a small turn latch and no door handle and it is not automated. This is the most direct entrance to the accommodation but it can also be accessed through any other door into the main building.
From the side entrance you access the ground floor landing, this entrance is step-free but the accommodation is up a set of 16 wide steps. The stairway has a handrail on one side in the bottom section of the stairs and on both sides in the top section of the stairs. In the stairway and on the stairs, the flooring is smooth grey lino, the decor is neutral and there is natural soft lighting from the large window.
The stairs have tactile indicators on the edges.
At the top of the stairs there is another coded locked heavy fire door which leads to a hallway with five doors, two either side of the hall leading to bedrooms and the door at the end of the hall leads to a bathroom.
The second bathroom is up another set of stairs on the second floor.
The bedrooms consist of a double bed with bedding, a clothes hanging rail, a small desk, yoga mat and a stool. The bedrooms have one window with a blackout blind. The furniture can be moved around to suit the residents and an additional mattress can be provided for child dependents. All rooms have a code lock door and door handle to open and close. The doors are very heavy and slam shut loudly.
The bathrooms consist of a toilet, sink, shower and bins. They have one velux ceiling window. The first bathroom has lino flooring and neutral decor with natural lighting from the ceiling window and a fluorescent ceiling light with shade.
There are light blankets, heavier duvets, pillows, mattress protectors and bedding provided. Residents need to bring their own towels.
Photo by Felicity Crawshaw
The following details are specifically about the shared accommodation hallway and accommodation rooms:
Flooring: Grey carpet in the hallway and brown carpet in the bedrooms.
Lighting: Fluorescent ceiling light in the hallway which is softened with a shade cover. In the bedrooms there is soft natural lighting from the window and from the shaded ceiling light and a small table lamp is also provided.
Seating: The bed or a wooden stool with no back or arms.
Sensory Notes: Neutral decor, green walls in the hallway and white and light yellow walls in the bedrooms, some bedding is patterned. The fire doors bang loudly when closing. There is traffic noise heard in the west, street facing rooms from passing vehicles.
Possible Barriers: There are unfixed door mats in the hallway. The rooms can get very warm in the Summer especially when the door is closed. In the Winter the rooms are well heated with a radiator that can be self controlled. The black-out curtain provided is not possible to use if you can’t reach high up or climb onto the window sill. There are unfixed mirrors in the rooms.
Nearest Accessible Toilet: There is an accessible toilet downstairs and through the Community Making Space, in the hallway towards the North entrance.
