The Met Becomes First Bury Location for Changing Places Facility

Date published: 11/03/2010

The Met has strengthened its position as a highly accessible venue by becoming the first location in Bury to install a Changing Place facility for people with disabilities and their carers.

The Changing Place facility includes a toilet with space for a carer, an adult-sized height adjustable changing bench and a hoist. Without access to Changing Places toilets carers are often forced to change family members who have profound and multiple learning disabilities on a dirty toilet floor with little or no privacy.

Already a highly accessible building, The Met was identified as an appropriate location for the Changing Places initiative due to the number of workshops and activities the arts venue plans on a weekly basis for people with disabilities. The Met successfully runs and funds Met Express, a drama group for adults with disabilities, and has done for the past ten years. The venue recently extended its workshop provision to include Aiming High, a drama group for 10-16 year olds with disabilities.

David Agnew, Director of The Met comments, “As a town centre venue we are able to accommodate the facility to allow individuals with disabilities to be able to access more of our programme. The Met is committed to improving access to the arts for everyone, and developing the important work we do with young people with disabilities, helping to build confidence and communication skills through enjoyment of the arts, is a priority for us.”

The project has been funded through Changing Spaces initiative through Children Services Disability Team, Bury Council and the Aiming High Initiative.

Councillor Dorothy Gunther, Executive Member for Environment and Transport said, “We know how important town centre toilet facilities are for people who come to the town centre. It is great that the Met have supported the Changing Places campaign to build a dedicated accessible toilet facility with enough space and the right equipment for disabled people”.