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Access

Middlesbrough Town Hall and all of our staff are committed to making your visit to the venue as welcoming and comfortable as possible.

Booking information

The Box Office is open from 10am to 3pm on Monday’s, Fridays & Saturdays.

You can book tickets in person at the Box Office, or by calling the Box Office on 01642 729 729.

Please note, at the moment you can’t book Personal Assistant tickets online.

Access information for our spaces

There are a number of different public spaces within Middlesbrough Town Hall.

The building is wheelchair accessible, and has step-free access from street level. The main entrance to the Town Hall is via Albert Road. An additional public entrance is located on Dunning Street.

There are a number of accessible toilet facilities in the building, as well as a baby changing facility.

The majority of spaces are accessible by lift. The only spaces which aren’t served by lifts are the balcony and gallery in the Main Hall, however the stalls area of the Main Hall is served by lift and is fully wheelchair accessible.

We have an interactive screen opposite the Box Office which gives access information for each of our public spaces, and lets you watch a video of someone walking the route to your chosen space.

The accessing our spaces page has all the information you need about accessibility. This includes which floor all of our spaces are on, the distance to the nearest accessible toilets, and videos showing you how to get to each of the spaces using the lift.

You and your companion are welcome to visit in advance to familiarise yourselves with the layout of the venue. Please ask for an advance visit when you make your booking.

Personal Assistant tickets

A free Personal Assistant ticket is available for guests who need help from someone else to be able to access our venue, and evacuate safely if needed.

Please ask for a companion ticket when you make your booking.

Personal Assistant tickets are offered at our discretion, so we’ll need to see proof that you’re entitled to one.

Once we’ve seen your evidence, it will be stored on our booking system for 12 months (or 6 months if you’ve shown us a doctor’s note). This means you won’t have to provide the evidence every time you make a booking.

Proof of eligibility

Any of these will make you automatically eligible for a free Personal Assistant ticket, in addition to your own ticket:

  • a letter from the local authority confirming receipt of disability allowance
  • local authority disability pass (this does not include Blue Badges)
  • local authority visual impairment card
  • disability rail card
  • doctor’s note (valid for 6 months)
  • CEA Card

We understand that not everyone with an access requirement will have one of the forms of evidence listed above. If you don’t have evidence, but would still like to apply for a free Personal Assistant ticket, please contact us. We assess everyone’s needs on a case-by-case basis.

Large print programmes and running times

Large print programmes or running times are available. Please let us know in advance (at the time of booking if possible).

Hearing loops

Induction hearing loops are available in all spaces apart from the Fire Station and foyer. A portable hearing loop is available at the Box Office.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome. Please let us know in advance (at the time of booking if possible).

Strobe lighting

If strobe lighting is used in one of our shows, we’ll make this clear by displaying posters next to all of the main entrances and exits.

Where we can, we’ll highlight the use of strobes in our printed and online programmes.

Access platform

For standing events in the Main Hall, we have a platform with ramp access for 7 wheelchairs and 7 seats for Personal Assistants.

https://www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/platform-1-1440x1080.jpeg
https://www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/platform-2-1440x1080.jpeg

You can download our full access guide for more detailed information about the venue and services available.

If you have any further access requirements, or any questions about to the accessibility of Middlesbrough Town Hall, please contact the Access Co-ordinator Kesia Bruce, by calling 01642 729729 or emailing venueaccess@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

Our postal address is: Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ.

We aim to respond to all queries within 24 hours.

Improving Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music

Middlesbrough Town Hall is signed up to Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best Practice. We’ve been awarded a silver award for the work we’ve already done to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music.

Find out more about the Charter of Best Practice.

https://www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/attitude.jpeg

Website accessibility

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. Our accessibility statement below explains how our website has been made so it is accessible to all.

1. Using this website
This website is run by Middlesbrough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this
website.

For example, that means you should be able to:
* Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
* Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
* Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
* Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS,
NVDA and VoiceOver)
* View the website using any device e.g. Mobile phone, Tablet, Desktop computer
* View any videos that we add to this website, ensuring they are accessible to all with audio or
written alternatives available where required
* View and understand content where we use colour. We will ensure that colours used have a
sufficient colour contrast

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Please note this website may not function correctly if you are using an older browser i.e. Internet
Explorer. It is recommended if you are using Internet Explorer that you instead use Google Chrome or
Microsoft Edge.

2. How accessible is this website?
Most of this website is compliant with the W3C WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standard. However, there are
some parts of this website that are not fully accessible:

  • The coming soon boxes on the homepage don’t have discernible text added correctly
  • The ID attribute used is not unique

3. What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read or audio recording please email boxoffice@middlesbrough.gov.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

4. Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t
listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Middlesbrough
Town Hall team by emailing the issue to boxoffice@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

5. Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies
(Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).
If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support
Service (EASS).

6. Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Middlesbrough Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public
Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA
standard, due to the non-compliances listed under section two of this page.

7. How we test this website
This website is tested every 28 days. The tests are carried out by the Middlesbrough Council Digital Team
using online accessibility reporting tools. Required changes that are discovered as a result of these tests
will be implemented within three months.

8. What we are doing to improve accessibility
Our accessibility road map below shows how we aim to improve accessibility across this website:

Action 

The coming soon boxes on the homepage don’t have discernible text added correctly. This element will be reviewed and test will be added.

Target fix date

January 2022

Action 

The ID attribute used is not unique. This element will be reviewed and will be set up correctly.

Target fix date

January 2022

________________________________________________________________

The below items we previously identified as not being accessible have now been fixed. 

Action
All images will have a descriptive Alt Tag added to assist visually impaired users

Target fix date
June 2021

Action
Give guidance to users of the event search form when an incorrect date
format is entered and how to correct this.

Target fix date
June 2021

Action
A visible border will be added to all elements of the website to assist those
users navigating the website using a keyboard only.

Target fix date
June 2021

This statement was prepared on 01/03/2021. It was last updated on 24/11/2021.