Accessibility concerns at Lincoln Castle concerts

Some disabled people who attended Live at Lincoln Castle concerts say more needs to be done to ensure the events are accessible.

Richard Adams, 45, who lives in the St Giles area, wrote a post about one of the gigs on his Facebook page, Disabled in Lincoln, where he shares information on accessibility at local venues.

Concerns were raised over not being able to see the stage, a lack of accessible toilets and cobbles and cables in the accessibility lane.

Cuffe & Taylor, which promoted the event, said it was "very sorry" to hear about Mr Adams' experience and is now in contact with the group to help with planning events for 2025.

Mr Adams, who went to see Kaiser Chiefs on 28 June, is an ambulatory wheelchair user, meaning he can sometimes walk, but can have difficulty covering long distances or standing for longer periods.

The accessibility lane at the castle was partially covered over and partially cobbled, he said.

"For people like me, I'm a big guy in a wheelchair, I couldn't ask my wife to push me over those cobbles," he added.

"Luckily I'm able to get out of the wheelchair and use a walker. But if I was having a bad day, I would've had to turn around and go home."

Hazel May Michael, 46, who lives in Lincoln and uses a mobility scooter, attended a Madness concert at the castle on 29 June.

She said the "biggest issue" was the disabled toilet being closed as it "was blocked and not flushing properly", so she had to be escorted to a disabled toilet in the castle grounds.

"I remember physically shaking and shivering from the anxiety and stress," she said.

Ms Michael also described "huge power cables" which "jolted" her in her medium path scooter.

She added: "Being disabled we don't ask for extras. We would just like to be catered for."

Donna Boast, 57, who is ambulant disabled and struggles to stand for more than a few minutes at time, lives in Lincoln and had her tickets refunded for Paloma Faith, Kaiser Chiefs and Madness concerts due to accessibility concerns.

She said: "All they were interested in was getting as many standing people in, packed liked sardines, to make as much money as they could.

"Sitting the disabled behind the standing people was ridiculous, how were we supposed to see?

"They were discriminating against the disabled."

Cuffe & Taylor said: “Our disabled customers are incredibly important to us and we take pride in offering extensive accessible facilities at our events.

"We were very sorry to hear about this customer’s experience. This is the first year of Live at Lincoln Castle, as with any event of this nature we welcome feedback as we continually strive to make improvements for everyone."

The promoters of the event also said they are "reaching out directly" to the Disabled In Lincoln group to "engage with them for our 2025 plans".

Kimberley Vickers, Lincoln Castle general manager, said: "We are sorry to hear that the accessibility arrangements at Live at Lincoln Castle fell below some visitors’ expectations.

"We are keen to make sure everyone can enjoy their visit to Lincoln Castle, and would encourage anyone with feedback to get in touch with us and Cuffe and Taylor so that we can make improvements for future events."

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]