Accessibility

We are working to make Makers’ Yard accessible to as many people as possible. We hope to fund essential improvements in the yard, including disability access, in the near future.

We recommend using the double-door entrance from the community yard to access our ground-floor facilities. We currently have an adjustable kerb ramp that will allow wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs to enter the building. We have accessible toilets on the ground floor and we welcome assistance dogs in all shared spaces in Makers’ Yard, including the yard, events space, bathrooms, corridors and community kitchen. The stairs to our studios are metal and are not suitable for assistance dogs.

Our team is happy to help you and accommodate any access requirements you may have. If you are planning to visit Makers’ Yard and would like to learn more about our facilities, please do call us in advance on 07966 846471, email us at makersyardsomerset@gmail.com or direct message us via our Instagram, @makersyardsomerset.

Event Space

Events are held in the event space which is situated on the ground floor. You enter the gallery through a fire door to the left of the main entrance. This door remains open at all times during events. The width of the doorway is 36.5 inches.

The event space can also be accessed through the double doors leading into the yard. The width of this doorway is 109 inches. These doors can be opened at any time during events so please let a member of our team know and they will be happy to assist you.

The event space floor surface is painted concrete and is level.

This space is lit with a mixture of natural light and LED wall lights.

Studios (Ground Floor)

The three ground floor studios are accessible through the event space, through a corridor measuring 43 inches. The studios are lit by both natural light and LED lighting.

Studios 1, 2 and 3 are accessible through single wooden doors. The doorways measure at 35 inches. The doors will always remain open during events that require access to these studios.

Studio 3 is also accessible through double doors leading out to the yard. We recommend that studio 3 is accessed through the events space and not the community yard.

Studios (First Floor)

The first-floor studios are accessible via a metal staircase (16 steps) with a handrail on both sides. The floor at the top of these stairs is surfaced with tread-plate metal.

The stairs to our studios have gaps between them and are metal. They are not suitable for assistance dogs.

We do not have a lift or stairlift to the first floor.

We have 7 studios on the first floor, each are accessible via a corridor measuring 38 inches, at its most narrow width. The corridor is lit by LED lights and is slightly slanted to the left.

Each studio can be accessed by a wooden door. The doorway measures at 35 inches. The doors will always remain open during events that require access to these studios.

The floors of the studios are painted wooden floorboards. While the floors are even, the wooden floorboards are bumpy.

The studios are lit by natural light and LED lighting.

We encourage our studio residents to facilitate accessibility, so please do call our team in advance on 07966 846471 or email makersyardsomerset@gmail.com, or email the studio resident directly, for more information and support.

Studio 11/Offices (Second Floor)

The offices on the second floor are accessible by a metal staircase (13 steps) with a handrail on both sides of the stairways

The stairs to our studios have gaps between them and are metal. They are not suitable for assistance dogs.

We do not have a lift or stairlift to the second floor.

Studio 11 is accessible through a small landing measuring 48 x 40 inches and a wooden door at the top of the stairs. The doorway measures 31 inches. The door will always remain open during events that require access to this studio.

The floors of the studio are painted wooden floorboards. While the floors are even, the wooden floorboards are bumpy.

The studios are lit by natural light and LED lighting.

We encourage our studio residents to facilitate accessibility, but if we can help in any way or you need any more information, please do call our team in advance on 07966 846471 or email makersyardsomerset@gmail.com.

Access guide updated 2nd November 2022.

Car Parking

There is limited on-site parking. These 5 spaces are directly outside the building and the gates to our community yard.

When events are taking place in the yard, the gates will be open, limiting on-site parking to the 2 spaces directly outside the building.

There are nearby residential roads (such as Grove Lane) that are suitable for parking with footpaths and dropped kerbs.

Lower Keyford has no kerb and the ground is uneven. There is dense shrubbery on the side of the road.

Arrival and Main Entrance

8 meters of the ground leading up to the Yard and entrance is uneven and made of poured concrete, pebbles and earth. There is a slight incline that flattens out by the entrance to the yard.

The yard can be accessed through a large and small (1 metre wide) gate.

There is a 2 inch lip at the gated entrance of the yard and a 3 inch lip into the yard from the large gate.

There is a 10 inch step into the main entrance and a 4.5 inch step into the event space from the double-door entrance in the community yard. We have an adjustable kerb ramp that will allow wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs to enter the building. This ramp will be installed prior to public events and can be installed at short notice for any visitors who may require it.

There are no handrails at the main entrance or double-door entrance in the community yard.

The floor surface of the main entrance is tiled.

There is a 2 inch lip between the main entrance and the event space.

The space is lit by natural light and an LED light.

Yard

The yard floor surface is made of concrete. The yard is slightly uneven and has small potholes.

Public Toilets

Public Toilets are located on the ground floor, a short walk through the event space.

Our toilets are gender-neutral. Each toilet is an enclosed cubicle with a thumblock turn. The two basins and hand dryer are located in the shared space before the three cubicles.

The doorway into the shared space is 35 inches and toilet 1 and 2’s doorways measure 27 inches.

Each bathroom is supplied with a bin, and there is a general waste bin located in the shared space before the three cubicles.

There is an emergency alarm cord in the accessible toilet cubicle.

The door width of the accessible toilet cubicle measures 35 inches.

The accessible toilet cubicle is supplied with a door handrail, a thumb-turn lock, a lever-mixer tap, toilet handrails, paddle flush, bin and soap dispenser by a downward hand pump. The hand dryer is located in the shared space.

Our taps and soap dispensers are not automatic. The taps operate by pulling the hot and cold levers downwards to change the water pressure. The soap is dispensed through a hand pump.

The wash basins in the shared space stand at 36 inches.

The accessible toilet is lit by natural light (with a blind) and LED lighting.

The two cubicles and the shared space are lit by LED lighting.

The shared space has a hot air hand dryer that works by positioning your hands below the dyer. It is positioned 45 inches above floor level.

Community Kitchen

The community kitchen is not accessible to the public, but we are happy to provide water if people require it.

In the event that anyone needs to enter the kitchen, it can be accessed by an open-plan entrance measuring 30 inches.

The kitchen includes a bar area which will sometimes be utilised to serve drinks - the serving area measures 51 x 93.5 inches.