Overview

Excel is an exhibition centre. I attended the first day of Disability Expo there. While on paper Excel looks accessible, apart from the step free access, the venue is very disappointing regarding access.

Transport & Parking

Public transport access is excellent. Custom House which has the Elizabeth Line and DLR. I travelled by the Elizabeth Line. A couple of tips for this line. Check what train you are boarding as the Elizabeth Line has 2 branches east bound. You need to board the train going to Abbey Wood. The other branch goes to Shenfield. If you are on the wrong branch you can change at any station up to Whitechapel. Going eastbound, Central London to Abbey Wood, the exit and lift are at the back of the train. It's a long platform to walk if you are at the opposite end. Going westbound, Abbey Wood to Central London, the exit and lift are at the front of the train. The Elizabeth Line has 1 lift. When you exit the station turn left and walk along the covered passageway. At the end of the passageway, on your left is the entrance to Excel. there is initially a very slight slope upwards and then it levels out.

Access

This is a building which on paper ticks all the access boxes. However, little thought has been given to how disabled people will navigate the building. I'm going to break it down into good and areas for improvement. Good Step free public transport near by Automatic entrance and exit doors Venue is step free with lifts Wide corridors Mobility scooter and wheelchair hire available Changing Places toilet (I did not see this) Areas for Improvement Excel's website: The Getting Here page gives no indication which stations are step free. The Venue Accessibility page has no travel information. It also has no information about access for D/deaf visitors. Saying there are 40 accessible toilets throughout the building is technically accurate, it is highly misleading, as only the disabled toilets in the halls you are accessing are available as well as those in the central public area. Disability Expo's website: While there was a lot of interesting information on the website, what would have been helpful was practical information. Most disabled people going to a new place will check out the access arrangements before visiting. Getting to Expo had some good information about getting to Excel. However, it felt like it had been copied and pasted from somewhere else without any thought given to access information which is important for disabled people. For example, there was no indication about whether Custom House or Prince Regent Stations were step free. There was no map or an image board of how to find Excel from the station. The Access at Disability Expo was only partially helpful. There was a link to the Access Able Guide for Excel. However, what was missing was practical information about the Expo itself to help me plan my day. For example a map showing the layout of the Expo, (which I could not find online, and didn't get until I received my programme when I arrived). Signage: Entrance Signage: When I arrived there were large overhead signs saying what events were on that day and where they were located. Disability expo said "N4" and there were no maps or signs giving directions. I therefore had to ask a member of staff where to go. Accessible Toilet Signage: Poor signage to accessible toilets and no signage to Excel's own Changing Places toilet. I will say more about this in the toilet section below. Distances: Distance of Disability Expo from the main entrance: I heard someone say "Why do they always locate disabled people's events so far from the entrance?". Given that many people were arriving by public transport, this was event specifically for and about disabled people, why could not have Excel accommodated the event in one of the spaces nearer the entrance. In total there were N1 to N11 halls so Disability Expo at N4 was mid way, and the furthest distance from both the East and West entrances. I arrived to the West Entrance and on my way I had to walk past N1, N2, N3, S1, S2 and S3 (which were not in use) before finally arriving at N4 where the event was. A "short walk" may be nothing for most people but many disabled people have mobility impairments are in pain, discomfort and fatigue through walking short distances. Not all people with mobility impairments are wheelchair users. I walk with a crutch and I was exhausted and in pain by the time I got there. I hope if Disability Expo hold their next event at Excel then an event space nearer to the door can be available. Excel should consider this a request as a Reasonable Adjustment. Queue: On arriving mid morning there was a queue to get into Disability Expo, see photo. When I joined it stretched back to N5, the next event space. I had about a 12 -15 minutes wait, it brought on my back pain. I spoke with other people in the queue and the feeling was why was there not more staff on to reduce queuing times. As a community we come with a wide range of access needs. No consideration had been given by the venue or event organisers for people with walking sticks or crutches or impairment, those with impairments that impact on their balance or ability to stand. I would suggest a ticketing system, so when you arrive you pick up a ticket, there is somewhere to sit for people who need it and you go and get registered when your number is called/ displayed. I ended up registering, getting my pass and then immediately exiting again as I needed to have a seat, manage my pain levels, before starting to go round the expo. I felt for a disabled event the queueing arrangements had not been thought through to support people with some mobility disabilities. Noise Levels and the Layout of Expo Hall: The Expo was only in hall N4. On the positive side it made it not too large and overwhelming. However, with the stalls, Centre Stage, People's Panel, etc all being in one open-planned location it was very noisy. When I attended talks at the People's Panel I struggled to hear everyone speaking and missed a lot of the discussion. It was only later in the day I heard the announcement that there were some headsets, but then I was unaware if they were for people with hearing impairment or anyone who was struggling to hear. I missed out on parts of the conversation and as there was only a few sets I didn't want to be taking one when someone many need it more than me. It would be helpful to have the events in separate but adjacent spaces, so the noise levels didn't compete. Seating: There were some chairs and sofas immediately outside of N4 entrance/ exit. Seating areas inside Expo: Inside seating was a bit hit and miss. Some of the stalls had seating but most didn't. It would have been nice to have a couple of seating areas dotted around for people who just needed to rest. Seating areas by Central Stage, People's Panel, etc: The seating configuration in the event spaces was laid out with rows of chairs. For People's Panel, powerchair users occupied a line along the aisle. More inclusive would have been having some wheelchair user spaces amongst the seating plan. Timings: I appreciate that events overrun and timings don't always work out, however, I ended up missing events as some started late. I left what was watching to move to the fashion show, billed for 2pm and it started at 2.30pm, so I could have stayed with the original event and gone over later if that had been known. Some of us struggle with sitting too long as we get stiff and additional sitting and waiting around it not helpful. The expo was 9am to 4pm both days. Many disabled people will find it difficult to arrive early in the morning, due to waiting for carers, general speed of getting ready, wanting to avoid travelling in the rush hour, etc. It would be nice if the timing was maybe changed or earlier events repeated later in the day.

Toilets

Signage: I arrived from Custom House and struggled to find an accessible toilet. The first 2 set of toilets contain no accessible toilets. When I arrived at N4 and the queue I asked in desperation, did anyone know where the accessible toilets are? Someone said they were downstairs. It was only when I walked back that I discovered that just before N4 is a lift. Walking past it toward N4 the signage is just for a lift. However, when I walk past it in the opposite direction there is an accessible toilet sign, see photos. I took the lift and came out opposite a car park. the toilets were not signposted. I turned left and then saw a small accessible toilet sign. Location: Given that many disabled people who use accessible toilets do so due to bladder and bowel conditions, accessible toilets should be easy to locate and near to the entrance. Also the toilet I used was reliant on the lift being operational. The permanent accessible toilet in N4 was right at the far end of the exhibition hall. There was a high up sign. Then you exited the exhibition door by a manual door and came out into a short corridor which had a lift and an accessible toilet. Returning to the main hall the door had two sets of handles for standing and wheelchair user height. Number of Accessible toilets: Disability Expo arranged for 2 Mobiloo facilities (Changing Places toilets) within the Expo itself. However, within N4 hall Excel only have 1 permanent accessible toilet. Accessible toilets are only accessible if you can get to use them. Looking at the Excel accessible toilet map (which I only found when I started writing this review), if I am reading it correctly there are no ground floor toilets in the main corridor, which don't require you to access the event space or be reliant on a working lift, between the Custom House/ West Entrance, N1 to N8. That is about half the length of the entire venue. It is appalling. Imagine when the venue is very busy, or you need to go to the toilet quickly. While non disabled people have the choice of 3 sets of toilets, without the need of a lift, between Custom House/ West Entrance, N1 to N6 (which was as far as I walked). This is disgraceful, unequitable, ableist and shows a lack of awareness of disabled people's access needs. Excel you need to do better! Condition of Toilets: The toilet downstairs had a manual door. Quite spacious although it had couple of bins. The toilet was clean and tidy. There were grab rails and emergency cord. The toilet in N4 had a manual door, plenty of grab rails and an emergency cord, but right in the corner, making it difficult to access if you fell. It was spacious. Clean and tidy the first time I used it, but when I returned there was pile of tissue paper on the floor. Given that this was the only permanent accessible toilet that Excel were offering to a disability event, they could have thought about regularly checking the area to ensure it was clean, tidy and hazard free.

Staff

The member of staff at the West Entrance came towards me when he saw me looking lost and directed me toward the Expo when I asked. Proactive and very helpful. At the Expo, there were too few staff at the entrance, which lead to queues. Staff were welcoming and helpful. After that I had no further involvement with any staff.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I'm very disappointed by Excel. I was tired with the journey and then got stressed out looking for an accessible toilet, the poor signage and the queue into the Expo. It made me feel like I wanted to go home before I had even got into the Expo. However, I am glad I stuck it out as I enjoyed the events. If I had been looking to buy equipment I would have really appreciated the opportunity to try so many different things out. I also really enjoyed the spontaneous chats during the day. It was a nice, friendly, safe space. I only attended 1 day due to my spoons, I really needed to rest the following day. However, I am extremely unimpressed with Excel and I feel they really need to up their game with regards to accessibility but particularly if they are planning to continue to host regular events specifically aimed at the disabled community. There's a lot of missed opportunities, which could be addressed quite easily, such as improving the poor signage, the hall allocated to the expo being nearer one of the main entrances. More structurally, I would suggest some of the toilets being swapped around, so that some of the accessible toilets are at ground floor level and ideally at least one being near West entrance, given it supports 2 railway lines. Very happy to go back to Disability Expo, but to be honest I won't be rushing back to Excel. I hope Disability Expo has a new location next year.

Photos