Accessibility

Accessible seating
Saffron Hall is fully wheelchair accessible from our car park, with level external door thresholds and a power-assisted main entrance door. Our accessible seating includes:

• 6 wheelchair spaces with companion seats in Rows D and Z - Download our guide to wheelchair spaces
• 14 step-free seats in Rows D and Z
• Seats with additional space for assistance dogs

Wheelchair accessible toilets are located on the ground floor and the mezzanine, which is accessible by lift. Our stewards are always at hand to give directions if needed.

To view the exact dimensions of each of our seats and wheelchair spaces, along with our recommendations for the best places to sit for extra leg room, seats with no arms or seats close to the toilets, view our interactive seating plan.

Induction loop system
Our induction loop system can be used in the Balcony, Rows AA-XX and the Stalls, Rows D-Y. It cannot be used in Rows A-C or Row Z. To use the system in the Balcony (Rows AA – XX and Rows W-Y), simply adjust your hearing aid to the ‘T’ or ‘M’ position. If you’re in Stalls (Rows D – V only), please collect a neck loop receiver (subject to availability) from the Box Office before the performance.

Essential companion tickets
We offer free Essential Companion tickets to anyone who is not able to attend the Hall without the full-time assistance of a carer or companion. Please let us know whether you are eligible for this free ticket when you book

Changing Places toilets
We do not have a changing places toilet on site at Saffron Hall. Our nearest changing places toilet is in the Lord Butler Leisure Centre Find out more

Standard toilet access
Our standard non-wheelchair accessible toilets are located on the ground floor on the right hand side of the auditorium (looking from the stage towards the seats). The seats with the quickest toilet access are located towards the front of the stalls on the right hand side (E-J 19-22) and the balcony seats at the very back on the right hand side (Y-W 19-22 and DD4-5/EE5-6).

If you are concerned about exiting and entering the auditorium with minimal disruption, we would recommend sitting in the balcony (from which the ground-floor toilets are accessible via several flights of stairs) or in the 'slip seats' (Z1-4, Z23-26) which can be booked 'by request' via any of the methods below.

Seats with no arms or fold-up arms
The majority of seats in our auditorium do no have fixed arms, including the pit (rows A-C), main stalls (rows E-V) and stage balconies (row LL).

If you have access requirements, please let us know when you book so that we can do our best to accommodate them and ensure you receive any discounts for which you are eligible. You will not be asked to provide any evidence or accreditation in order to buy access tickets.

We recommend booking in advance where possible as we have a limited number of wheelchair spaces and step-free access tickets for each performance. There are four ways of booking access seats. You can:

1. Call our admin office on 01799 588545
We are happy to help with access bookings over the phone in our admin office - opening hours 10am-5.30pm. This number is free to call for access ticket bookers.

If you need to call on a weekend, you are welcome to ring our telephone box office which is open on Saturdays, however please note that calls to this number cost 7p per minute + access charge.

2. Visit the Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre in person
Open Monday-Saturday 9.30am-5pm. Address: 1 Market St, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR.

3. Email
Email our administration office on access@saffronhall.com

4. Book online yourself
We now have the facility to enable regular access users to book wheelchair spaces and seats with step-free access (which are not available to the general public) and use our free essential companion tickets via our website.

Please call our admin office on 01799 588545 or email access@saffronhall.com and we’ll set this function up for you and give you some simple instructions on how to use it.

If you already have this facility set up and you need a reminder for how to book you can find our Guide for Online Access Booking (PDF) available to download via the button below.

Wheelchair Accessible Shuttle Bus
We run a free wheelchair accessible minibus which runs between Audley End station and Saffron Hall at selected Saffron Hall events. To find out if we’re running this service for your event, please check the event’s page in our What’s On section. You can hop on anytime from an hour before your concert, and we run return trips to the station for an hour after the performance. You’ll find the minibus as you exit the station, opposite the taxi rank and in (or next to) the ‘Daily Parking’ area.

The minibus is branded ‘Uttlesford Community Travel’ and although it also has ‘Book a ride’ written prominently on the front and sides, there is no need book the minibus in advance.

Accessible parking
Feel free to use our setting down point, conveniently located just outside the main entrance. We also have several dedicated parking spaces for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility. These are located between 10 and 30 metres from the main foyer entrance door.

We reserve a plentiful number of parking spaces for access visitors for each event which can be found in the below areas on the map: ‘Blue badge and Drop Off’ and 'Purple car park'. There is no need to let us know if you intend to use one of these spaces in advance.

Saffron Hall is on the site of Saffron Walden County High School so is only open to the public directly before or after a Saffron Hall event. The Saffron Hall box office and bar are open to the public at least an hour before the start of each event, and the auditorium will open to audience members between 15-30 minutes before the start of an event.

If you have a visible disability, you may be greeted by a friendly Access Steward who will be stationed near the box office (directly inside the main entrance). They will be on hand to show you to your seats and answer any questions you have about the venue. If an access steward has not made themselves known to you when you arrive, please notify the box office or talk to any of our other stewards (dressed in black). You will not be asked to provide any evidence or accreditation of your access needs when you attend events at Saffron Hall.

In the foyer there is some sofa seating on the right hand side of the box office and some chair/table seating in the glass rotunda space and down the corridor to the toilets. If you are worried about finding somewhere to sit, please let a steward know and they will grab a fold out chair and bring it to you.

Here's what access bookers had to say about their visit

• “I must say on anything I’ve tried to book for disabled access you have been the most helpful venue.”
• "From the moment we arrived we were treated superbly, shown to our seats and looked after the whole way through the concert. I really think that Saffron Hall is unique in looking after its patrons and must congratulate and thank you and your staff!"
• "Saffron Hall is a superb venue and, being disabled, the stewards were first class."
• "We were warmly greeted, served by friendly staff at the bar and asked if we needed any assistance when we went to our seats. Staff were on hand at the end of the concert just to check we were OK. Bringing my father in law to Saffron Hall is something I very much look forward to and I feel confident that should we need any help it will be available."
  

Evacuation procedure
Some emergency exits are only available via the stairs. For Health and Safety reasons, if you are sitting in seating above Row D (rows E-Y, AA-XX) you must be able to exit the auditorium via stairs and without the use of the lift.