Venue Access Information

Before its relocation, between 1847 and 1873, the town hall had been the Fire Station House in Swain Street. In 1869, a new triangular site was purchased, and a competition held for a design to rival the town halls of Leeds and Halifax. It took three years to build and was opened on 9 September 1873.
It was first extended in 1909 with another council chamber, more committee rooms and a banqueting hall.

On 14 March 1912 Winston Churchill gave a speech outside the hall in which he called for the people to “go forward together and put these grave matters to the proof” (referring to Irish Home Rule).

It was extended again with a new entrance and staircase in baroque marble in 1914.

In 1965 the name was changed to City Hall to reflect Bradford’s prominence.

The City Hall was the venue for crown court trials until the new Law Courts in Exchange Square opened in 1993.

For those of you interested in the history of the building there is a lot more information to
explore.

Information Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_City_Hall.

Fountains Church in the centre of Bradford, West Yorkshire, is a multinational, multi-generational Anglican church whose members believe that church is for everyone whether you are on a faith journey or not.

The church space has been created from 4 other buildings and is next to the iconic Alhambra Theatre.

The building is designed to be used not just as a church but also as a community space and Outreach Centre.

Fountains Church is a workshop venue for Street Choirs Festival Bradford 20205.

St George’s Hall will be used for: 

• Registration
• Mass Sing Rehearsal
• Concert 
• Performances 
• Bar

This is our main venue for Friday registration, Mass Sing rehearsal  and evening concert, and again for the Saturday afternoon and evening performances.

There is level access from the street into the ground floor lobby and bar area, where there are also two accessible toilets.

There is a lift at the right side of the lobby to the first floor stalls level, where there is an additional accessible toilet.

There will be a designated quiet space on the first floor in the Gallery.

We will have reserved spaces at the front of the stalls for those who will be remaining in their own seats or need the space to transfer out of them and store their mobility aids. 

Each of the reserved seats will also have a cluster of accompanying friend seats allocated with them.

We will ensure that there is a steward to support with any reconfiguring of seats to ensure people can be seated in their parts for the Mass Sing rehearsal.

For non ambulant performers or those who are unable to navigate steps, access to the stage is from the stalls using a hand crank lift. 

We have planned performance slots and rehearsal spaces with this in mind to minimise the journeys for those choirs who will be using the lift.

Please note:

St Georges Hall (main venue) – lift access is only to first floor stalls level.

Access to the second and third floor balconies is by stairs only due to the age of the building.

Lift access to the stage is by portable hand crank lift from the stalls.

Used for: 

• Sunday Luggage Drop
• Sunday workshop spaces
• Choir Reps meeting

Located across Drake Street to the right of St Georges Hall.

There is a pedestrian crossing with a dropped kerb and tactile pavement.

The main entrance to the hotel is to the rear via the Ground Floor Entrance.

Please note there is an alternative entrance for step free access to the Velasco Suite only. 

Main Ground Floor Entrance

There is a car park which costs £5. You are required to register your car at reception if you wish to park.

There is a stepped entrance to the main doors.

To the left side of the steps there is a short steep metal ramp to a small platform.

The door at the top of the ramp has no bell and the looped handle is set at standing height.  The door opens externally and may require reversing back from the doorway.

A steward will be available to manage the door while the building is in use for workshops.

There is a reception desk to the left side of the main entrance.

There is a spacious carpeted foyer area leading into the corridor..

There are toilets including an all gender accessible toilet (right transfer)  to the left past the reception desk. The all gender accessible toilet is located through the door marked as  female toilets. This results in a double door entry which obscures access to this toilet – may not be suitable for some wheelchairs.

The majority of workshop spaces are off the main foyer or down the corridor to the right side.

There is dark carpeting throughout with contrasting white walls into darker wood corridors with little contrast.

There are steps down to the Velasco suite. 

There is an accessible toilet located to the rear of the Velasco suite.

There is no internal lift down to the Velasco suite. 

See below for details of the step free entrance.

Lower Ground Floor Entrance – Step free entry for Velasco Suite Only

Entry is directly off Drake Street.

Externally opening double doors at ground level to the side of the building.

There is a bell to the left at standing reach height and there are no external door handles.

A steward will be on duty to respond to the door bell if they have been closed for the workshop.

Once doors are open, please note the threshold has a concrete lip approximately 2-3 inches high.

Further information can be found on the AccessAble website using this link.

Used for: Sunday workshop spaces

The entrance is on the pedestrianised zone on a slight upward incline when approaching from the St George’s Hall/Broadway area. There are three steps up to the entrance from the bottom side with a handrail to the right.

There is a level platform to the door from the upper side.

There are double doors and the left door has a looped handle and opens outwards.

The right hand door can be opened with staff assistance to widen the doorway.

There is an assistance bell with a camera to the right side of the door at standing height.

There is a lift directly in front of the doorway. The lift goes to all main floors. 

Please note: The Studio workshop space is accessible only via a flight of 6 stairs with right side descending handrail. The Studio is not wheelchair accessible.

There are stairs with variable single/double sided hand rails. The left ascending rail is constant. The right ascending rail varies floor to floor. 

Toilets:

There is an accessible toilet with left side transfer on the main first floor level. 

There is an accessible toilet with right side transfer on the second floor level.

Please note: Kala Sangham is currently in temporary premises due to refurbishment. Information you may find from sources other than Bradford Street Choirs 2025 may relate to a different building.

Used for: Sunday workshop spaces

The church is up a short incline, approximately 15 minutes walk from St George’s Hall. 

It is located off Morley Street, to the left side of the Alhambra theatre.

There are a number of disabled parking bays close to the church with a 5 hour maximum duration.

From City Park there is a pedestrian crossing with tactile pavement over the main road to the Alhambra and Morley Street is to the left.

Each workshop space has its own external accessible entrance and accessible toilet.

The entrances have glass doors and the room names are etched either into or close to the glass. 

The Auditorium entrance is to the lower side of the building, positioned fairly centrally. There are externally opening double glass doors with metal looped handles. There is a bell at standing height to the right side of the door frame.

The Cafe can be accessed internally from the Auditorium via a platform lift or entered from the separate external doors.

The Cafe entrance is also on the lower aspect of the building but is approached from slightly further up the paved area to the right of the building a little higher than the auditorium entrance. It can be recognised by the point at which the glass corner protrudes, with a set of painted grey double doors along a paved area with a defibrillator machine alongside. The entrance is through the double glass doors which have looped metal handles.

The Hub entrance is on the top side of the building which is found by following the paved area to the right of the building and all the way round to the top side. There are long metal bar handles and The Hub is etched in the glass to the right side. The doorbell is to the left of the frame high in the corner, however the doors will not be locked during the workshop times.

The Delacey centre will be used for:

• Sunday Workshop Space

There is a stepped entry to the cathedral grounds at the corner of Church Bank and Cathedral Close. At the top of the steps, follow the path and the Delacey Centre is the last building on the left. 

The accessible entry to the Cathedral complex is on Stott Hill which is at the top side of the cathedral grounds further up the extremely steep Church Bank. It is not recommended that wheelchair users (manual or electric) travel up Church Bank other than by vehicle. Disabled parking can be arranged within the grounds but should be organised in advance. There are also approximately 4 free parking spaces opposite the gates which are unrestricted on weekends.

Once on Stott Hill, to the left is the entry to Cathedral Close through ornate blue metal gates. The set of gates on the left is for pedestrian entry only. The set of gates to the right is for vehicular access and there is a bell for the office to the right of this gateway at standing height. 

The Delacy Centre is to the right of the courtyard along a very slightly inclined paved path. There are dark blue wood and glass double doors. The right hand door has a pull down handle and is positioned at a wheelchair accessible height. 

Further information can be found on the AccessAble website using this link.

Used for:

• Sunday Workshop Spaces
• Collection of Sunday picnics (outside only)

The spaces within this building are all wheelchair accessible. 

There are lifts to each floor and there are accessible toilets on each of the floors where we are holding workshops.

More information about access to City Hall is available from the AccessAble website with the following link. 

Centenary Square/City Park will be used for:

• Mass Sing

This space is fully pedestrianised and has majority level paving, however there are various items of street furniture and raised beds to navigate.  Additionally there is a large area which has ground lights and fountains, however we have been assured these will not be in use during the Mass Sing.

Information about access to this central outdoor space is available from the AccessAble website with the following link.