Garvaghey Centre is the home of Tyrone GAA.
Located off the main A5 road at Ballygawley, opposite Kelly’s Inn, it is easy to access. The ground around the building is tarmac’ed, which provided a smooth surface for anyone who is using a wheelchair. There is ample disabled parking bay close to the main entrance, which is paved all the way up to the door.
Inside the building, there is a large open space, with plenty of open space and natural light coming in. There is a small reception desk in the lobby, but unfortunately there is no lowered section, but the staffs do some cross to the front of the desk to make things easier for disable visitors.
There is a large disabled toilet within the building, which has push buttons to open the doors automatically for disabled people. Inside the toilets, there is a speaker to ensure that anyone using them, do not miss any of the speeches being made and important, do not miss any emergency announcements being made.
There is a conference centre within the building, which is fully accessible for anyone in a wheelchair and has bays at the front to park. It is open, so there is plenty of room to move around in with a wheelchair.
The staffs at Garvaghey Centre are extremely helpful and always want to ensure that everyone, including disabled visitors, is looked after. They went out of their way to ensure that I had access to all areas and made sure that I was happy with the access.
Indeed at the planning stage, I was consulted at the design stage to ensure that the needs of the disabled where met. I made a few recommendations that could improve the facilities and these recommendations were met and incorporated into future redesigns before the final stage. This only highlights how importantly the needs of the disabled are being met and how they cater for all.