Access information:
- There is an accessible toilet
- There is a wheelchair lift to access the upper floors
Friends Centre - Ivory Place
The venue is accessible via lift, although the lift is fairly small and must be operated by an unaccompanied wheelchair user. There are a number of small rooms available for hire.
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Address:
Brighton Junction,
Isetta Square,
35 New England Street,
Brighton,
BN1 4GQ
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Phone:
01273 810210
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Fax:
01273 810211
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Web:
www.friendscentre.org
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Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Getting There / Parking:
The Friends Centre is located on the second floor of the building at the junction of Ivory Place and Morley Street, two minutes walk from Grand Parade.
The nearest bus stops are at St Peter's Church or a slightly longer walk from Old Steine.
The venue is quite a distance downhill from Brighton station which unfortunately is an extended journey either on foot or by car/taxi due to the layout of one-way traffic routes to cross from west to east through the main routes north-south in the centre of the city.
There is pay and display parking directly outside of the venue in Ivory place which incorporates one blue badge disabled space three spaces from the entry door. There is a dropped curb on the corner leading into the entrance.
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Getting In:
There is level access to the first set of entry doors which are usually locked open during normal opening hours but should they be closed there is a push pad with Braille markings to the right of the doors. Immediately to the left there are another set of push-pad double doors. There is a wide clear access route through the ground floor to the stairs/lift required to reach the second floor.
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Getting Around / Facilities:
GROUND FLOOR
Reception desk and seating belonging to a children's project unrelated to the Friends Centre, but there is a disabled toilet with right-hand transfer and a cafe facility which can be used by all visitors to the building
STAIRS and LIFT
Landing area of the stairs and lift is fairly narrow. The stairs are wide and well lit with extremely clear nosing on each stair.
The lift is a flat floor wheelchair lift which although not indicated requires an unaccompanied wheelchair user to reverse into the lift to close the door manually. The user must hold down the floor button at all times and manually open the door at the level needed. At the time of the visit there was no indication inside the lift of which floor one may need to reach for the Friends Centre. Extreme care is needed when reaching the floor level to ensure it is safe to push open the door.
Access into the Friends Centre is through the lobby where the toilets and refreshments machine are located. There is another disabled toilet at this level. The corridors are fairly narrow but are wheelchair accessible.
the Friends centre is well-equipped for evacuation needs. All staff are trained in the use of the equipment. There is an evac chair at the top of the staircase and a roll-a-ramp wheelchair emergency evacuation device on the top level of the building. The staff are trained to install and use this ramp within three minutes of an alarm sounding.
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Accommodation / Rooms:
The meeting rooms are available for hire consisting of:
2 rooms that will accommodate 10-12 people, one room for up to 16 people, and one for 12-14.
Equipment comprising of 10 laptops, whiteboards and flip charts are available for hire. There are have smartboards in 3 out of 4 of the rooms and accessibility equipment like a large button keyboard, roller ball mice, and accessibility software.
A small kitchen to make drinks is also available.
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Additional Comments:
Friends Centre moved to the One Brighton development in December 2009 and have now expanded further with another 6 training rooms in total all of which are for hire. These rooms are all fully accessible with infra red induction hearing loops installed and height adjustable desks available. Close to Brighton Station. Disable parking available.
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Reviewed By:
Kathy
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Review Date:
February 2010, updated 10/3/2011 by Pappya
Published in
Public Buildings & Community Centres - Brighton
