ACCESSIBILITY AT FACT

Customers who are mobility impaired

• Our Box Office is fully accessible and is situated in the foyer. The cinema screens are situated on the top floor and are fully accessible via a lift, with wheelchair access in every screen. The Box Screen and The Café (Garden by Leaf) are on the ground floor are fully accessible. The Picturehouse Bar is on the first floor is fully accessible with access via a lift. The galleries on the ground and first floor are fully accessible. Accessible toilets are available on each floor.

• Advance booking is always a good idea so that our staff can readily provide assistance if required. Accompanying carers are eligible for a free ticket. We will be pleased to reserve wheelchair spaces or seats in any particular part of the auditorium if this is helpful. Please contact us in advance.

• All areas of the building are accessible to visitors with limited mobility, including wheelchair users. There is a lift serving all floors in the main foyer, to the left of the Tickets and Information Point. All screens and galleries are accessible by wheelchair. The Tickets and Information Point, kiosk and bars all have adapted counters and accessible levels for transactions.

• There are fully accessible adapted toilets on the ground floor, on the second floor near the bar and Gallery 2, and on the third floor adjacent to Screen 2. There is an emergency call-point in each toilet should you need to summon a member of staff.

• In the event of a fire, the cinema has several disabled refuges. In each auditorium, the wheelchair spaces are next to the exit. A refuge is situated immediately outside each exit. If you would like to be made aware of the location of refuges when you arrive, please ask at the Box Office. Rescue authorities are well briefed on the layout of the building and the location of the refuge areas and your rescue will be a priority.

Customers with a visual impairment

• Listings are available in larger print.

• All Cinemas are equipped with infrared audio description equipment. Audio-described screenings are similar to listening to a cricket or football match on the radio, having the action described to you. The normal film soundtrack comes through the cinemas surround sound speakers in the usual way, and a recorded narrator explains what's happening on screen – in gaps in the dialogue and sound effects – through special headphones that allow the user to still hear the sound from the speakers.

• Please note audio description has to be actively produced by the film distributors who have to decide to pay someone to write and record the audio description track. Some distributors (Warner Brothers for example) have a policy of providing AD (and subtitles) for all their films. Others distributors may never provide this service.

• Films and events available with Audio Description are noted on our website listings. A small returnable deposit of £5 (or ID – driving license) is taken. This is not a charge for rental but to ensure safe return of the equipment.

• Guide dogs are welcome at the FACT Centre. If you wish to take a dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so we can arrange an aisle seat. Alternatively, your dog can be cared for by a member of staff for the duration of the performance. Our staff will be happy to provide drinking water for your dog.

• Our stair rails have bumps on the side to indicate the number of steps approaching each level. Three bumps mean that you are on the third step from the landing, two that you are on the second step, and one that you are on the final step.

• The lift is fitted with tactile aids. It has a telephone should you need to contact a member of staff in an emergency.

Customers with a hearing impairment

Assistance dogs

Guide/Assistance dogs are welcome at the FACT Centre. If you wish to take a dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so we can arrange an aisle seat. Alternatively, your dog can be cared for by a member of staff for the duration of the performance. Our staff will be happy to provide drinking water for your dog.

Autism-Friendly screenings

We offer Autism-Friendly screenings every Sunday morning at 11.30am. Autism-Friendly Screenings are screenings which create an environment that is welcoming for people with a range of conditions such as autism, learning disabilities and cognitive disorders. Sound levels are turned down, the lights are left on at a low level and there are no trailers or adverts at the beginning of the film. Audience members are welcome to take a break from the screen, make noise and move around as needed. Tickets are £2.50 per person.

Dementia-Friendly screenings

We offer Dementia-Friendly screenings on the 3rd Wednesday of the month with the film performance starting at 12noon. Dementia Friendly Screenings are screenings are open to all but specially adapted to enable people living with Dementia to enjoy a trip to the cinema. The films are specially programmed and include older classics and musicals. Sound levels are turned down if it is a loud soundtrack, the lights are left on at a low level and there are no trailers or adverts at the beginning of the film. Free tea/coffee and biscuits are served before the film to give audience members a chance to socialise and familiarise themselves with the building. There is a short interval about halfway through the film and audience members are welcome to take a break from the screen, make noise and move around as needed. Tickets are £4 per person, with free tickets for accompanying carers.