Electric Folk Dance Party

Electric Folk Dance Party Access Statement

This is the access statement for Electric Folk Dance Party (EFDP for short). We aim to describe the event’s access information as clearly as possible. Please contact us by email if:

Last updated: 26th October 2025

This access statement is available in PDF format: view/download here

Contents

We are a small event running in a village hall on a small budget and volunteer labour. Within those constraints, we are very keen to make our event accessible. So if something would make your life easier, please get in touch and we will see what we can do!

Who to Contact ⬆

The accessibility point of contact for EFDP is Sol L. (they/them). Sol will be available most of the time at the event and there will be a backup access point of contact when they are not.

Before the event

Email electricfolkdanceparty@gmail.com with “Access query” or similar in the subject line. Emails to this address can be read by all of the EFDP committee; if you need to speak more privately, please email first to arrange communication.

At the event

There will be a visible Hat of Authority (visual details tbc but probably purple and sparkly) worn by whichever committee member is currently on duty. Whoever is wearing the Hat and will either help you or direct you to someone who can.

An email will be sent to ticket holders 24 hours before the event with a photo of the access point of contact and a phone number (call, text, WhatsApp) to use at the event.

Important: The venue is in an area of variable mobile phone signal and the phone is run by volunteers. We will do our best to respond quickly. If you don’t receive a response or acknowledgement within 2 hours please try again. In an emergency, you should always contact emergency services first and then text the access number to let us know that you have done so.

Light & Sound ⬆

EFDP is an electronic folk music event and by its nature, all dance events and many workshops will have amplified music. There will be very few purely acoustic events. While it is difficult to give exact sound levels, participants should expect a similar volume to amplified music at a medium folk festival or wedding ceilidh band, but not as loud as a club night.

Due to the venue’s position in a village near residential dwellings, we will aim for the music to be barely audible beyond the building. It may not be possible to talk over the music without raising your voice. Earplugs will be provided and there will be a quiet room available.

For lighting effects, each dance event or workshop will be in one of the following categories and will be clearly labelled as such.

1: No light show

2: Toned down light show

3: Full light show

The quiet room will have medium-low mood lighting with some static fairy lights, and no moving or flashing lights.

Techno Contra: 3 (full light show)
DJ Ceilidh: 3 (full light show)
Most workshops and sessions: 1 (no light show)
Bal: 2 (Toned down light show)

Venue ⬆

The venue is Hathersage Memorial Hall, 6 Oddfellows Road, S32 1DU.

Here is a video walkthrough of the venue, courtesy of Amy W. Warning: there is flickering lighting in the video, an artifact of phone recording + fluorescent lighting. (If anyone has video editing skills and is willing to edit out the flickering please email us!)

The hall has four main rooms, detailed below. There is also a small conservatory / entranceway which we will use as front desk, and a small car park.

It is possible to get to every room without steps. However, some routes between rooms have several doors. If you use a wheelchair please feel free to ask anyone for help with doors. If you need a committee member to remind people to avoid blocking corridors please come and find one of us (see Who to Contact).

Doorway widths & possible wheelchair routes

Apologies, we do not currently have a measurement for the doors between the Main Hall and the Stanage Hall but there is one double door and one single door.

Because of the narrow (77cm) doorway between the entrance area and the Main Hall, it is likely to be easier for wheelchair users to enter the Main Hall from the carpark.

The accessible toilet in the entrance area may be accessed across the carpark (involves briefly going outside) to avoid the narrow door.

Main Hall

The largest hall. This will be used for dancing and workshops. Depending on numbers we may also eat here.

There is ramped access to main entrance which may be too steep for wheelchairs. There is level step-free access at side entrance (in the carpark). This also provides an outdoor wheelchair route to the accessible toilet near the entrance. There is an indoor route but the corridors are narrower.

The width of the doors at the side entrance are 120.5cm.

Image of the main hall

Image of the main hall. From Hathersage Memorial Hall’s website.

Floor plan of the main hall

Floor plan of the main hall. By EFDP / Amy W.

Lawrence Hall

Small hall. This will be used for baggage storage, possibly sessions and workshops, and snack breaks. The main kitchen hatch opens into this room. Step-free level access (with doors) from the entrance corridor or the Main Hall.

The door between the Lawrence Hall and the Main Hall (which requires no corridors) is 87cm.

Image of Lawrence Hall

Image of Lawrence Hall. From Hathersage Memorial Hall’s website.

Floor plan of the Lawrence hall

Floor plan of the Lawrence hall. By EFDP / Amy W.

Stanage Hall

Large side room with bonus kitchen. We will use this for sessions and possibly workshops.

Step-free access is via a medium-large storage area between the Main Hall and the Stanage Hall.

The main door to the outside of the Stanage Hall (the fire exit with double doors in the photo) has stepped access. The glass door into the swimming pool carpark has a small narrow ramp (see photos below).

The width of the accessible toilet door in the Stanage Hall is 89.5cm.

Image of Stanage Hall

Image of Stanage Hall. From Hathersage Memorial Hall’s website.

Stanage Hall main outside doorsStanage Hall main outside doors

Images of Stanage Hall main outside doors.

Stanage Hall side doors with narrow access ramp

Image of Stanage Hall side doors (to swimming pool carpark) with narrow access ramp.

Floor plan of the Stanage hallFloor plan of the Stanage hall accessible toilet

Floor plans of the Stanage hall; accessible toilet on the right (marked Closet 1 in the main floorplan). By EFDP / Amy W.

Small meeting room / Quiet Room

This is off the side of the main entrance corridor and will be available as a quiet room throughout the whole weekend.

Photo of the meeting roomPhoto of the meeting room

Photos of the meeting room. Right hand photo is by Hathersage Memorial Hall.

Toilets & facilities

The venue has two accessible toilets (one near the main entrance, one in the Stanage hall).

The width of the accessible toilet door in the main entrance area is 92.5cm. The door into the entrance area is wider than this.

The width of the accessible toilet door in the Stanage Hall is 89.5cm.

Because of the narrow (77cm) doorway between the entrance area and the Main Hall, it is likely to be easier for wheelchair users to enter the Main Hall from the carpark.

The accessible toilet in the entrance area may be accessed across the carpark (involves briefly going outside) to avoid the narrow door.

There is no shower in the hall.

There is no Changing Places toilet in the village; according to the Changing Places website, the nearest Changing Places toilets are approximately 7 miles away in Sheffield or at Chatsworth house, and are not all open 24 hours.

Quiet Room ⬆

We hope for the quiet room to be a safe and restful space to escape the sensory intensity of EFDP. It is behind the stage and separated by a corridor and two closed doors, so we hope sound bleed will be fairly minimal, but we cannot guarantee no sound bleed from the stage.

Anyone is welcome to use the quiet room for quiet time and rest (including sleep). The room is not large, so please be as mindful as possible of space if laying out bedding.

Not all “quiet time” may be perfectly quiet; sometimes gentle conversations are needed when calming down. That is fine, just move your conversation elsewhere once you are able to do so. Using quiet sensory tools, stimming, and similar is also completely fine and very welcomed - we would like the quiet room to be a safe & welcoming place for neurodivergent people.

If someone is being temporarily loud but appears to be in distress and/or being supported please respect their use of the space.

If the quiet room is unusable for you for any reason please contact the access person, who will do their best to help resolve the situation.

Breastfeeding & chestfeeding is welcome anywhere at EFDP but if you feel more comfortable doing so in a quiet place you are welcome to use the quiet room.

Do not use the quiet room for social conversations, phone calls, play (including boardgames and loud sensory play), or anything that makes unnecessary noise.

Accommodation ⬆

Indoor camping is available at the event at no extra charge. Indoor camping is capped at 50 people so booking is essential. You will need to bring your own sleeping mat/airbed, sleeping bag, pyjamas and toiletries. There is no room for indoor campers to bring tents / shelters.

Indoor camping will be in the main hall, with mats and sleeping bags packed away into a baggage area during the day. For safeguarding reasons, we are not allowing children to indoor camp. There will be no gender segregation with the indoor camping - it’s everyone in the same room.

Indoor camping by its nature cannot be perfectly quiet or dark. Some people find it useful to bring earplugs and sleep masks.

There are some plug sockets in the hall which people can use to charge phones. If you need overnight access to a plug socket for a medical device, please contact us in advance to arrange this.

If you need to rest or sleep during the day please feel free to use the quiet room.

Travel and Public Transport Information ⬆

Hathersage train station is a 5 minute walk* from the hall and is served by trains from Sheffield and Manchester.

The 272 bus from Sheffield runs hourly to Hathersage, including on Sundays. It stops at the George Hotel, a 5 minute walk* from the hall.

The Travel South Yorkshire website tends to have the most up-to-date information.

*according to Google Maps

PA/Carer Tickets ⬆

We can offer up to 2 free tickets for PAs/carers, support workers, sign language interpreters, or anyone else who is reasonably required to provide constant support.

These tickets are free but must be booked at the same time as the original ticket in order to be secured. This is because we have an upper limit on the number of people we can safely fit in the venue.

If you have an unpredictable need to add a PA/carer ticket after buying your ticket (for example, if you break your leg or have a similar unexpected last minute access need), please email us ASAP; if we can safely fit your PA/carer in we will do so. If we can’t, we are happy to refund your ticket.

Arrival & Ticket Collection ⬆

Front desk will be in the conservatory / entranceway round the side that can be accessed from the carpark. This entrance is step free.

We will ask to see your e-ticket and check your name off a list. The list will be accessible to volunteers. We will not ask for photo ID.

We will issue wristbands. If you cannot wear a wristband for sensory reasons, you can attach it somewhere comfortable on your clothing or to something you keep on your person (e.g. phone, keys, handbag).

If you need quiet ticket collection or cannot stand in a queue let us know (if you can let us know in advance by email it is really appreciated!) and an organiser will be able to come out and meet you.

Front desk will not be staffed all weekend, but we will have an organiser phone number stuck to the outside of the door in case of late arrivals.

Parking ⬆

The hall carpark has very few spaces and we need them for the bands, technicians and their gear (to be able to manouevre their vehicles as well as park).

You can stop immediately outside the entrance to the hall carpark to drop someone off but cannot park there as it blocks both a drop curb and access to the hall.

The street the hall is on has no parking restrictions. There is a public car park across the road. When we last checked, the parking costs were as follows (also pictured in the image below):

As these car parks are not owned by the hall we cannot guarantee a space. If it is a sunny weekend, the village can get busy with people looking for parking as it is in the Peak District National Park and popular with walkers.

If there is no way you can attend the event without having a secured parking place in advance, please get in touch with us and we will try to help - we may not be able to but we will try.

Car park pricing information

Medical Requirements, Device Charging & Assistance Dogs ⬆

Please let us know if you will be bringing an assistance dog. It probably goes without saying, but the dog will need to be happy with the sensory environment, noise, lights, many people etc.

A fridge is available if you need to store medication or your own food in there. This is at your own risk - we can’t guarantee the temperature of the fridge etc. All food, medicine, baby milk etc etc in the fridge must be labelled with your name and “EFDP”.

If you will need to charge an electric wheelchair, mobility scooter or any other medical device please let us know in advance. We ask this for space and fire safety reasons: there probably won’t be space for more than 2 mobility scooters or large wheelchairs to charge at a time, and many people at folk events like to use plug sockets to charge their phones. If we know how many mobility or medical devices to expect it is easier to designate & prioritise charging spaces.

COVID & infectious diseases policy ⬆

If you are able to, please do a Covid test (lateral flow test), even if you have no symptoms, before coming to EFDP.

Please do not come to EFDP if you have a bad cold, the flu, COVID, or any other similarly infectious disease. We will refund your ticket in full, no questions asked. We ask this to protect our dance community, particularly people with weaker immune systems who can become seriously ill from a “mild” virus.

We are also conscious that some folks, including immunocompromised folks, are almost guaranteed to have a mild cold of some kind during October. Out of a desire not to exclude anyone for this, we’re not asking you to stay away if you have a mild cold - i.e. something which does not stop you from doing your normal daily activities and/or is normal for your body at this time of year.

If you do start to feel unwell or have a cough / sniffle for any reason, please consider wearing a mask if you are able, to protect others around you.

We ask all attendees to please remember that it is impossible to know anyone’s situation from the outside. It is perfectly OK to ask someone politely if they would mind wearing a mask to dance with you (accepting that the answer may be no), but please be considerate and assume good intentions.

Food & Allergens ⬆

We cannot have any oranges in the venue due to a serious allergy. This includes satsumas, clementines etc. Other citrus like lemons and limes are fine.

In general the food plan is that everyone makes their own arrangements for meals, but we will provide snacks, tea and coffee. We will also be inviting people to bring snacks to share.

You can bring all your own food and drink if you prefer not to risk it with shared snacks.

Please let us know about any allergies. In general, here’s the plan:

We will also

Everything is at your own risk and we cannot guarantee that everyone will get the memo. However we are keen to be as allergy safe as possible within our constraints - so please do get in touch to discuss if this affects you.

In Case of Emergency ⬆

In an emergency call 999.

The nearest A&E is at:
Northern General Hospital, Herries Rd, Sheffield S5 7AU

The nearest walk in centre is at:
75 Broad Ln, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 3PB

The nearest defibrillator is across the road at the fire station:
Odd House, Oddfellows Rd, Hathersage, Hope Valley S32 1DU

EFDP hope to have a trained first aider who will be contactable at the event.

Photo Policy ⬆

In general, you should treat EFDP as a public space where people can take photos and may share them online. We don’t have an official photographer, but we have a number of keen people with fancy cameras and of course everyone likes to take pictures with phones.

If photography poses a serious risk to you or your child, please get in touch; we’ll make sure you/your child do not appear in any photos we publish, and we’ll do our best to communicate this to attendees.

We do not have the resources or the desire to police photo-taking by attendees so we are not able to guarantee anything about attendee photos.

Other Information ⬆

If you need any other information please contact us.