Blackpool Wintergardens

Direct Access were the accessibility consultants for the recent refurbishment of Blackpool Winter Gardens.

The Blackpool Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom, and conference facilities.

The Winter Gardens has hosted the annual Trades Union Congress, the Conservative Party Conference, Labour Party Conference, and the twice-annual Liberal Democrat Conference. The venue’s owners claim that every Prime Minister since World War II has addressed an audience at the venue.

In September 2016, Direct Access undertook a full accessibility audit of the existing Wintergardens complex. The findings within this report have aided the Architects in ensuring that the current design will maximise the accessibility between the existing and new schemes. 

Direct Access reviewed the re-design at key stages to ensure that access for disabled people is included at every stage to a standard that met legal requirements while providing consultation with disabled people at key stages to ensure that the design is influenced by local disabled people who will ultimately use the development in the future.

Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council.