Help preserve our future
West Dean is part of a registered charity and relies on the support of generous donors, friends, legacies to help us deliver world-class education in conservation and the creative arts and maintain our award-winning gardens.
Accessibility Statement
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation and West Dean Gardens (the Foundation) is committed to our Equality Policy in respect of serving students, customers and employing staff. Within this policy the Foundation will endeavour to ensure that disabled students and customers receive the same standards of service as others. The Foundation will not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of disability, and undertakes to:
- provide disability awareness and equality training where appropriate
- consult and engage with disabled people as appropriate
- make reasonable adjustments to facilities, services and information including the provision of assistive devices
- regularly review the accessibility of goods, services, facilities and information
- make all employees aware of this policy
- regularly review the implementation and effectiveness of this policy
College Student and Visitor Accessibility
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is mainly located within West Dean House, a grade II listed structure. We will do all we can within existing guidelines to ensure the House, outlying buildings and gardens are accessible as reasonably possible for you and we offer the following list of facilities for our disabled guests:
Parking
Disabled parking is available in front of the main house, adjacent to the main entrance and dedicated spaces in the car parks.
Accommodation
First floor, accessible via passenger lift (1470mm x 1090mm, door entrance 790mm).
Transport
A passenger buggy is available in the grounds - please enquire at reception or when you make your booking.
House - ground floor (avoiding marble Hall by Workshop Entrance)
Accessible via level entrance.
House - first floor
Accessible via passenger lift (1470mm x 1090mm, door entrance 790mm).
Lavatories / WCs
Disabled WC ground floor in main house.
Disabled WC located in Gardens external toilets (outside of the Clock Tower Courtyard).
Gardens and grounds
Partly accessible, some slopes, steps, gravel paths and some tarmac paths.
General
West Dean House is built on low lying ground and access around the outside of the house is on the level with one small stone step of approximately 10cm leading into the main entrance. The House has several staircases, and access to the main part of the House, including the main dining facilities, is via five stone steps, then a stone ramp of a moderate incline. The Edward James Studios have ground floor entrances and stairs in the Textile Studio only. Some of the surfaces are flagstone or cobbled and this can make mobility difficult. About 1/2 of the House interior is accessible to wheelchairs and mobility scooters, subject to some limits - please see above.
Gardens Visitor Accessibility
West Dean Gardens is part of West Dean Estate. We will do all we can within existing guidelines to ensure the gardens and buildings within them are accessible as reasonably possible and we offer the following list of facilities for our disabled guests:
Parking
Disabled parking is available in front of the Gardens Visitor Centre with dedicated disabled spaces.
Wheelchairs
The shop, restaurant and the majority of the gardens are accessible to wheelchair users. Visitor wheelchairs are available in the Visitor Centre. Please contact us in advance to make the most of your visit.
Lavatories/WCs
Disabled WC ground floor adjacent to Gift Shop.
Disabled WC located in Gardens external toilets (outside of the Clock Tower Courtyard)
Gardens and Grounds
Much is accessible. There are some slopes, steps, gravel paths and some tarmac paths.
Gift Shop
Ground floor. Level entrance.
Gardens Restaurant
Ground floor. Level entrance.
Website Accessibility
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation and West Dean Gardens is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.
This website endeavours to conform to level A of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines will help make the web more user friendly for all people.
This site has been built using code compliant with W3C standards for HTML and CSS. The site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards compliant HTML/CSS code means any future browsers will also display it correctly.
Whilst the site strives to adhere to the accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website. We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so adhere to many of the available standards and guidelines. In the meantime should you experience any difficulty in accessing the West Dean College of Arts and Conservation and West Dean Gardens website, please don't hesitate to contact us.