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Press Release

12 July 2023

Fareham Live welcomes more people with accessible features

Fareham Borough Council is delighted to unveil an impressive array of accessible features which will soon help to welcome residents and performers with disabilities to its new community, arts and entertainment venue Fareham Live.

The previous theatre, Ferneham Hall, had limited facilities for those with disabilities, but the new Fareham Live will provide more inclusive features such as:

A platform lift to the main auditorium stage
An accessible lift to all public areas
Accessible performers’ dressing rooms
Fully accessible Changing Places Toilet
Disabled toilets
Disabled seating at various levels within the main auditorium
Low level counters at the Box Office and bar
Disabled parking

The Council is working with the Changing Places Consortium, a group of organisations working to support the rights of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and/or other physical disabilities, to ensure that Fareham Live is registered and accredited in recognition of its fully accessible facilities.

Executive Member for Leisure and Community, Councillor Sue Walker, said: “We are immensely proud to be providing an entertainment venue which is accessible to all. This has been a key objective since the very start of this project and I am delighted that Fareham Live, once opened in 2024, will be able to provide more inclusive access to the community facilities, arts and entertainment that this state-of-the-art venue will have to offer.”

The Council has received £50,000 of Government funding for Fareham Live’s Changing Places Toilet (CPT), part of a £30 million national fund to install CPTs in public places and tourist attractions. These facilities are for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches, and space for carers. Over 250,000 people in the country need these facilities to enable them to enjoy the day-to-day activities many of us take for granted.

Follow the latest news at www.fareham.gov.uk/farehamlive where there is also a unique opportunity to be a part of the exclusive soundwave artwork in the grand foyer ‘A Wave of Thanks’. You can also sign up for our mailing list to be one of the first to find out about new shows and events when Fareham Live opens in 2024.

ENDS