We sometimes get members of the group who have to use wheelchairs and really struggle with the current internal doors. Automatic opening doors would be a great help to avoid any problems and, in the current climate, it would be safer and more hygienic to avoid touching handles.
Again, for the wheelchair access we have somebody with a very large chair and they find it difficult to navigate the current ramp. It's long and a bit tight so not very user friendly. -a small lift near the stairs which would solve that problem.
Reformed Recorder Ensemble
The average age of the ensemble is between 65 and 70 (and not likely to get any younger!) and some of us do have mobility issues. It would certainly be beneficial to have electrical opening internal doors as we usually are carrying multiple instruments and music stands into the premises. A number of the group have large recorders with correspondingly large, heavy cases which can make negotiating standard opening doors especially awkward.
It would be very helpful to have an electronic doors at the premises to facilitate my clients who need to have buggies and prams, it is difficult to manually open doors and push buggies and prams with ease.
It will also facilitate those who find the large heavy doors difficult to open due to restricted mobility or disability. In addition an electric lift would also enable me to be able to recommend my classes to those in wheel chairs, with limited walking mobility and parents with double buggies. Thus opening up the ability to serve the community better.
Woking Tai Chi for Health
Woking Tai Chi for Health has 'for health' in the school's name as we take a particular responsibility for helping those with health issues. Our teacher is experienced in teaching people who are seated.
Some of our members use one or two walking sticks, have knee and/or heart problems, and find the ramp and stair access to the hall difficult to navigate. A lift would be a boon to them and enable more people to benefit from the exercise of Tai Chi.
Woking Baby Sensory
We would benefit from these suggested modifications. In this current climate anything “contactless” is appreciated, but many parents will struggle to move big buggies around small spaces and having electrical openings will be one less manoeuvre to negotiate, particularly the disabled toilet for baby changing.
The hardest part of attending a class with a newborn is showing up - once they’re here it’s wonderful so anything we can do to make that transition from home to venue easier will of course be a blessing and that’s one of the reasons why we love your venue so much as it is one of the more accessible venues that we use.
Woking Contact Centre
We have many families attending for Contact sessions with very young children and sometimes children and adults with disabilities. Automatically opening internal doors would be a significant improvement when we have parents with pushchairs, including those for 2 children.
We have also had need for both that and for a lift to accommodate adults who need wheelchair access. A lift for them would be a huge improvement over the existing long ramp with difficult and very tight corners. We would greatly appreciate any help that the Church is able to provide for these families.
Our organisation are regular room hirers at the Woking United Reformed Church. Prior to Covid we regularly use their meeting rooms, hall and facilities to hold meetings for our board of trustees, workshops for our volunteer mediators and to meet mediation clients face to face. For all these groups accessibility is vitally important.
The proposed upgrades would represent a significant improvement in access for our clients and other stakeholders.