YARD Access Information

YARD is our base & home in Ladywood. Most of the events we run will happen here.

If you have any access requests to make attending our events possible - please fill in our Access Request Form

If you have any questions regarding access to our spaces or events, reach out to Hazel (hazel@maiagroup.co) - our Disability Justice Lead.

Physical Access

  • We have free on-street parking. We do not have dedicated parking, including disabled parking spaces. 

  • We have step-free access to the ground floor via a small ramp (1:10 steepness)

  • Our ramp extends onto the pavement. It is marked with high-visibility tape.

  • We have a small ground floor bathroom, under the stairs. The bathroom has 90x75cm clearance - unsuitable for transferring from most wheelchairs & people with personal attendants. It may be suitable for people with limited mobility, or ambulatory wheelchair users.

  • We have a larger bathroom on our first floor, including shower & bath. 

  • We have bedrooms on our second floor, which are usually reserved for use as prayer spaces or baby-changing facilities. 

  • We do not have grab rails installed in our bathrooms

  • We do not have lifts to 1st and second floors

  • There are 15 steps between floors, with a single handrail

  • The nearest Accessible Bathroom is at Ladywood Leisure centre, which is 0.5 miles away (a 10 minute walk on Google maps). The bathroom is in the Lobby area, and available to non-customers.

  • The nearest Changing Places Bathroom is at the Library of Birmingham, 1.62 miles away. However, the one at Birmingham New Street (2.04 miles away) has better public transport to & from our venue.

Our Events

  • BSL is available as standard for events where we expect over 25 attendees.

  • We do not have Induction Loops set-up in the space

  • We have an Access Request Form to request BSL, Audio Description, Live Captioning, travel expenses, childcare expenses and other access needs to attend any of our events.

  • Our staff are not currently trained as Sighted Guides. We are working on this.

Sensory Access

  • Our space mainly has fluorescent lights. These can be turned off. We are currently investigating dimmers & other lighting options.

  • Our Ground-floor space is an open plan kitchen & living space. Noise can travel & echo in the space, which can be overwhelming at busy times. We have ear defenders available.

  • We have a scent-reduction policy in place, but cannot guarantee absence of perfumes from attendees.

  • We have a dedicated quiet room, but this is on the first floor. On the ground floor we have a small garden which can be a quieter space, but this is weather dependent.

COVID & Pathogen Safety

  • We politely request not attending our events if you have COVID, cold or flu-like symptoms.

  • We offer most events as hybrid events. If you have symptoms, please do not attend our events. We work hard on our virtual offering - you will still have a quality experience.

  • Masks are not required at most events. We are working on developing more pathogen-secure events.

  • Masks, hand sanitiser & LFT tests are available prominently at entrances to the space