ACCESSIBILITY
FUTURE NOW is Future Yard’s annual music festival that celebrates the best new music happening now, right in the heart of Birkenhead. This will be the fifth time that the festival has taken places, always on August Bank Holiday weekend, and this year we’re channelling the spirit of the original festival that launched Future Yard back in 2019.
This year’s Future Now takes place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August, with five stages split across four venues: Birkenhead Town Hall, Joy, the Future Yard Live Room and our outdoor Garden stage, as well as the festival hub in the brand-new Make Hamilton building.
Future Now is produced and presented by Future Yard, a music venue based at 75 Argyle Street. Since 2019, this community venue has been hosting live shows from some of today’s most exciting new national and international artists, while at the same time providing key early performance opportunities for emerging local musicians.
Your feedback and involvement in the development and implementation of our processes is welcomed, by contacting our Community Manager.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Community Manager – Cath Hurley
Please email access@futureyard.org with all queries and information related to accessibility and your visit to Future Yard. Estimated response time is within three days.
If you would prefer to talk on the phone, please email your phone number, along with a preferred time of day to chat.
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VENUE DESCRIPTION
Future Now uses four different venues, with four distinct live performance spaces. Birkenhead Town Hall hosts the festival headliners (Everything Everything on Saturday 24th; Nadine Shah on Sunday 25th); Future Yard hosts two stages, an indoor stage in the Future Yard Live Room, and an outdoor stage in the Future Yard Garden; Joy hosts live performances in an open plan space; Make Hamilton hosts the venue Box Office and merchandise point, and will be your first port of call.
All of the venues and spaces at Future Now are accessible.
The spaces at Future Yard (indoor and outdoor) and Make Hamilton are on the ground floor with step-free access. The space at Joy has step free access, with a ramp up from street level (23 metres long and 2.5 metres elevation – 10% gradient).
The performance space at Birkenhead Town Hall is on the second floor and is accessed via two flights of stairs, or via a lift from street level.
Walking between venues is required. All routes are along established pavements and all roads are crossed by pedestrian crossings.
Access to any of the venues across the weekend will only be granted by a valid festival wristband. You must collect your festival wristband at the Box Office area at Make Hamilton (see details below).
If you have been to Future Yard before, the usual way of moving around the venue and accessing facilities will be different for this event.
Drinks will be available in all spaces. Food will only be available to purchase in the outdoor Future Yard Garden area, with two vendor options available. There are also other food options available on or around Argyle Street and Hamilton Square – but food purchased externally will not be allowed to be brought into any of the festival venues or spaces.
All food at Future Now is vegetarian with some gluten free options. If you have any allergies or dietary requirements, you can contact us in advance of your visit to check the menu or talk to a member of our staff before ordering.
Face coverings are no longer a mandatory requirement, but if you feel more comfortable wearing one or require one, we are very comfortable with that. e no longer provide face coverings, however, so please provide your own. If you are attending an event, we recommend taking a lateral flow test before you arrive, but will not be enforcing this.
For full details on each of the performance spaces, please consult our full Festival Accessibility Guide.
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BOOKABLE ACCESS FACILITIES
Customers with accessibility requirements who are attending this event should contact us in advance.
Our access team can be contacted on access@futureyard.org.
When arriving at the festival, customers should head to the festival Box Office at Make Hamilton to receive their wristbands. Staff at each venue will be able to help with and point out any specific provision.
Anyone requiring a seat in Birkenhead Town Hall must email in advance. When you arrive at the festival you will get your ticket scanned at Make Hamilton and receive your festival wristband and an additional wristband which you must wear in order to be permitted to the seating area at the Town Hall. Due to the limited number of seats available, if you do not have this wristband, you will not be permitted to access the seating area.
PERSONAL ASSISTANT TICKETS
For our customers that are unable to attend without assistance, we offer a free ‘personal assistant’ ticket. If you would like to book this additional ticket, please contact us in advance of your booking so that we can allocate this space within the event’s capacity, then book your ticket through the regular ticket link for that particular event.
SEATING AND WHEELCHAIR USERS
If you are a wheelchair user or require a seat during the performance, please contact us in advance. We appreciate that everyone’s needs are different and will work with you to ensure your requirements are met.
TRAVEL GUIDE
PARKING
None of the venues used at this event have designated parking. All of the spaces are well serviced by public parking on Argyle Street and a number of public car parks in the area.
See festival map on Google Maps.
Hinson Street – 90 spaces, no height restrictions
Argyle Street – 110 spaces, no height restrictions
Duncan Street – 23 spaces, no height restrictions, disabled spaces available
Elgin Way – 39 spaces, no height restrictions, disabled spaces, electric charging
On street parking after 6pm
TAXIS
Taxis will drop customers off and pick them up at the main entrance of Future Yard. We recommend our local taxi service Argyle Satellite who have an app that can be downloaded. They have a number of vehicles that are suitable for wheelchairs with ramp access. You can ring them on 0151 201 1111 or call their designated wheelchair access booking line on 0151 647 5858.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Future Now is based around Argyle Street/Hamilton Square, meaning that it is served well by local transport. Birkenhead Hamilton Square, Conway Park and Birkenhead Central Merseyrail Stations are all within 0.5miles and have step-free access available. It takes just 4 minutes to get from James Street in Liverpool to Hamilton Square Station. Birkenhead Bus Station is situated just round the corner on Grange Road, 0.2miles away.
You can plan your journey across local buses and trains at Merseytravel.
ARRIVAL GUIDE
FESTIVAL OPENING TIMES
Saturday 24th: 12pm – 2am
Sunday 25th: 12pm – 2am
Doors to the festival Box Office at Make Hamilton are open 12pm to 12am.
Doors to Birkenhead Town Hall open at 4:30pm. This space closes after the final performance, 11pm.
Doors to Future Yard Garden open at 1pm. This space closes after the final performance, 10pm.
Doors to Future Yard Live Room open at 12:30pm. This space closes after the afterparty, 2am.
Doors to Joy open at 1pm. This space closed after the final performance, 8pm.
Full festival running orders can be found below:
Saturday clash finder graphic – DOWNLOAD
Sunday clash finder graphic – DOWNLOAD
Stage timings text PDF – DOWNLOAD
UPON ARRIVAL
Our team are approachable at the door to offer assistance and guidance.
If early entrance to a live event is helpful for you as part of your accessibility requirements, please contact us in advance. Our main ticket provider is Eventim, and we occasionally use See Tickets as well. We ask that you provide us with your name at the box office and we can confirm your entrance with either your ticket or your email address that you booked the ticket with. As stated previously, if you require accessibility assistance, please contact us in advance, so we can plan your visit with our team.
TOILETS
There are accessible toilets in all venues (see details on full Festival Accessibility Guide PDF). If you have any questions when you arrive, please ask our staff and they’ll happily show you to the right space.
Or you can drop us an email in advance on access@futureyard.org and we’ll answer any queries.
CUSTOMERS WITH MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
We welcome attendees who need to bring medicines, food or drink to manage a medical condition, or medical equipment. Please contact us to ensure your requirements are met.
ASSISTANCE DOGS
It is a legal requirement to accommodate an assistance dog. If you are attending a live music event with an assistance dog, please contact us in advance, so we can accommodate your needs.
STROBE LIGHTING
Strobe lighting may be used during live performances. If you are affected by strobe lighting, please contact us in advance of your visit.
OTHER INFORMATION
We want your visits to Future Now to be as enjoyable as possible and we look forward to working with you to ensure this is the case. As our building and community grows, we hope to introduce a number of interventions that ensure this. We welcome feedback and suggestions from all our visitors.
If you would like to discuss anything further, please contact our Community Manager, Cath Hurley, on cath@futureyard.org.
We look forward to welcoming you to Future Now.