Heavy doors, cobbled streets and high pavements a problem at ‘Wheelchair Friendly’ Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe claimed this year’s event would be its most wheelchair-accessible yet, however heavy doors, cobbled streets and high pavements continue to be a problem, according to a disabled volunteer who put the festival to the test.

Suhayl Afzal, who volunteers with Blackwood Housing and Care – industry experts in adapting spaces for innovative disabled access, saw signs of improvement at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe but says that progress is being made at “glacial speed” as his night at the festival was littered with accessibility issues.

The 28-year-old, who has Muscular Dystrophy, claims he would have struggled to manage by himself as heavy doors, cobbled streets and high pavements continue to be a problem.

Mr Afazl went along to Alex Williamson’s ‘That Guy from the Internet’ at The Gilded Balloon in Bristol Square and sandwiched it with a pre and post drink, but found it wasn’t as simple as he had hoped.

He said: “Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe is a particularly busy time of year for the Capital with people from all over the world descending on the city to absorb the festivities, and the hustle and bustle can be particularly difficult for a wheelchair user like myself to navigate.

“In fact, I normally completely avoid it if I can and this is the first time I have ever bought tickets for a show as I had seen reports that wheelchair access had been improved and wanted to check it out for myself. “The evening began by meeting another member of the Blackwood team for a drink at Potterow near the venue – something one would assume to be a relatively simple task.

“However, problems arose immediately with transportation and finding an ideal drop off point, as we had to consider ramped access and that countless routes were restricted and parking spots suspended.”

He added: “Even when we did find an ideal drop off location, it was on a cobbled street (as many of Edinburgh’s are around the Fringe venues) with high pavements unsuitable for traversing with a wheelchair.”

Suhayl and his colleague moved onto the nearby show venue, The Gilded Balloon, twenty minutes early to ensure they had time for any unexpected issues, but were pleasantly surprised.

He continued: “Outside the venue, we were able to locate the wheelchair lift without too much trouble and the staff were very helpful.

“After the show, however, we visited the Library Bar upstairs for drink and, to access the lift, we had to go through a separate corridor that no one else was using and I was then faced with a large fire door which would have been unmanageable without an accompanying person.

“Obviously some of these problems are the responsibility of the venues or the festival organisers and some might be down to the council, but I would say that the accessibility was very average. It was a fairly straightforward process and wasn’t drastically time-consuming, but as ever there is room for improvement.

“Overall, accessibility does seem to be improving – but at glacial speed. It definitely wouldn’t be possible to navigate the venue without assistance. Had I decided to attend the show on my own and had to rely on the assistance of strangers or staff members, I think I would have had a very different experience indeed.”

In response to the criticism, an Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society spokesperson said: “The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society exists to support audiences and participants who come to be a part of the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Earlier this year, the Society announced that over the next five years a lot of our work will be focused on two key areas, one of which is accessibility.

“Our ambitious project to improve access to the Fringe can only be delivered over time and collaboration with partners with a range of different skills and experiences. We know from research that the most important thing that people with specific needs require accurate information on what facilities are available.

“We’re pleased to have already taken the first steps in improving the services we provide to people with specific access requirements by introducing Access Co-ordinators to our box office team who can help deal with individual enquiries about what is available and how accessible specific venues are and we will be extending this service by integrating it across our box office and customer service teams.

“This is just one of the key areas we’ll be focusing on over the next five years to help our bold audience navigate their way around the Fringe programme.”

Edinburgh-based charity, Blackwood, has more than 1500 homes throughout the country making it a leader in helping those who are disabled, elderly or with sensory impairments to live more independently.