Access to BHCA
Bedford House Community Association is situated in a Victorian House from the 1900th century and an adjacent hall from the 1970ies.
The building is owned by Essex County Council, and we are unable to make changes to the building at this time. We are however planning on making improvements to accessibility as soon as possible after 2029.
Please note there are no disabled toilets on site.
Mobility Accessibility
The House still has many original features and has not been transformed to provide access that one may expect of today’s buildings. There is a staircase with 10 steps plus two separate steps to enter the House building.
The Hall building has only a couple of shallow steps and there is a mobile ramp available on request. Please contact the administration office on 020 8504 6668 to use the ramp.
Please note that the front door to the Hall may not be wide enough to accommodate very wide wheelchairs.
The garden is accessible for those with mobility aids or wheelchairs through the Hall or via the garden gate. Please contact the administration office for assistance with access.
The back door to the house from the garden is quite narrow and may not accommodate wide wheelchairs and mobility aids entering from that side.
Website Accessibility
In 2024 we reviewed the website and consulted with various users to ensure the website is accessible.
Course Accessibility
Our tutors go out of their way to create a learning environment that is as accessible as possible. We support for instance mild to moderate dementia, sight impairments, and other more individual situations. Please contact the administration office if you wish to discuss a particular course.
Food and Drink
The Kitchen Café is a shared space on the first floor where people may be spending time for instance to have lunch, for their courses to start, or for their children’s courses to end.
You can purchase coffee and tea via the honesty box and then make your own drink.
Our ‘Access & Inclusivity Statement’ can be found by following the link.