Concerts in Church House Gardens, Bromley
October 21, 2010 at 2:12 pm woodingb 2 comments
Church House gardens is situated behind the central library and Churchill Theatre in the heart of Bromley. The park has a history of staging concerts in the park. Many years ago there was a bandstand situated in the lake in Church House gardens. More recently there has bee a stage area constructed immediately in front of the lake and the ‘amphitheatre’ type steps. This summer there were several concerts held on this new stage. It is hoped that more concerts, perhaps on a weekly basis in the summer months will be held. My concern is the access for disabled persons, especially wheelchairs, when visiting the park. At one of the concerts this year, A Midsummers Night Dream, which was a joint production by the Churchill and the local Council the facilities for the disabled were inadequate. Firstly the diasabled entrance to the stage area was via a steep slope from Library gardens near to the theatre. This slope is indeed steep and not suitable for all types of wheelchairs. There is a gate near to the Churchill theatre stage door [ Tetty Way] which is locked and therefore not a normal entrance / exit to and from the park. This gate would be more suitable for wheelchair users as the route to the concert area is much more flat. It is my understanding that we may be able to use this gate for future concerts. Another area of concern is the lack of places that wheelchairs can be situated once inside the park to see performances. Because the concert viewing area is steps it will be imposible for wheelchair users to be anywhere else but immediately in front of the stage – not an ideal situation. I am a committee member of the Friends of Bromley Town Parks and Gardens and we will be involved in talks with the Town Centre Area manager concerning future concerts. I hope to be invited to meetings regarding access at future concerts in Church House gardens.
Barry Wooding – Oct 2010
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Barry Wooding | February 23, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I have now heard that there is likely to be up to a dozen concerts in Church House gardens amphitheatre during the coming summer months. Via The Friends of Bromley Town Parks & Gardens group we have asked the Town centre management and the Council to take into consideration the disabled – some of whom may wish to attend the concerts to ensure there is adequate access into the park and that there is sufficient areas for those in wheelchairs to watch the performances.
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woodingb | August 2, 2011 at 10:33 am
There have now been 4 concerts at the Church House gardens amphitheatre this summer. I understand that there are to be at least 2 more in August. I have been in touch with a member of the Council regarding access issues – specifically at the site and the response was that yes – its not an ideal situation for wheelchair users and that he would look into this matter further. It has also been pointed out that when the amphitheatre was designed not much thought was given to wheelchair users and the only area that they could see any productions was to be directly in front of the stage which could restrict the view of those behind. This issue must be addressed for any concerts in the future.