Client
Church House in Caversham has been owned by the Parish of Caversham, Thameside and Mapledurham since 1943. A handsome building, it is home to the Parish Office and Caversham Good Neighbours, a local charity providing transport for the elderly and disabled. Its large community hall, which is available for public hire, is used by many community organisations and special interest groups too – everyone from allotment holders to railway enthusiasts and Pilates groups.
Problem
The community hall and the charity’s office are situated on the first floor of Church House, only accessible via a single narrow and rather steep staircase. Unfortunately this situation was beginning to deter some community groups from using the building because the staircase was proving difficult for some of their members to manage. For others, transporting equipment such as projectors and artists’ easels upstairs was far from ideal.
The Church House Leadership Team, which is responsible for maintaining and improving the building, knew that a full renovation project was not a viable financial option but they were keen to find a cost-efficient solution to the access issue. With no specialist building knowledge amongst the volunteer-led team, finding a supplier who would give help and advice and be relied upon to deliver what they said they would, were important considerations.
Nigel Smith, Chairman of the Church House Leadership Team, discovered how effective Evolifts platform lifts can be after seeing Channel 4’s Restoration Man programme about Settle Water Tower. He was immediately impressed by ‘the quality of the advice and the competitiveness of the quote’ he was given and looked no further.
Solution
An EVO500S Internal Platform Lift was installed to facilitate access to the first floor accommodation, rising to 3.15 metres. Evolifts worked with the chosen builder to complete the works in a process which Nigel Smith describes as ‘very smooth’.
A truly flexible solution for many environments, the EVO500S has a range of eight platform sizes available, can travel up to 13 metres with up to six stops and entrances and exits available to three sides. This lift provides smooth operation with soft start and comes with reassuring safety features as standard, such as an arrival gong, sensitive platform edges and emergency lighting and lowering, making it a popular choice for wheelchair users.
The EVO500S is economical to install and operate too. Since it is self-contained, requiring no separate lift shaft or external machine room, there’s minimal disruption during installation. Once installed, the lift’s precision engineering ensures that it is exceptionally reliable with low maintenance and running costs.
Nigel Smith, on behalf of Church House, said: “We are delighted that, for the first time, the whole of Church House is at last accessible to people in wheelchairs, those with walking frames and parents with pushchairs. I have received many comments appreciating this welcome addition to the building’s amenities and I would have no hesitation in recommending Evolifts to other organisations that need a simple, practical lift installed in their premises.”