City Hall

The newly constructed offices of the mayor, often described as a glass onion. Located on the south bank of the Thames, halfway between Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast. The hall is situated in an almost totally pedestrianised area, so arriving by car or taxi is not possible unless you have made arrangements in advance. The nearest drop-off point is in Tooley Street by Weavers Lane (opposite the Elusive Camel pub). There are four Blue Badge spaces near the building, which must be reserved in advance with the GLA's Facilities Management Tel: 020 7983-4750. The City Hall pages under www.london.gov.uk includes a detailed description of how to get to the building, but does not describe the inside. The main entrance is a revolving door on the riverside, with an alternative step free entrance for wheelchair users 10m away. The building has ten floors in total, but the public only has access to the Ground Floor, lower Ground Floor, floors two and nine. The Ground Floor is merely a reception area. A curved ramp in the centre of the building leads down to the lower Ground Floor; at the back of the Ground Floor are two public lifts (Door width 100cm Lift width 110cm Lift length 180cm) which go to all the floors named above. The lower Ground Floor is entirely step free; it houses ten public meeting rooms and a universal prayer room. There is also a cafeteria and an impressive scale model of central London, best viewed from the ramp. Floors one and two house the Assembly Chamber where council meetings take place, and the public viewing gallery. Next to the lift on floor two, at the back of the viewing gallery, there are spaces for wheelchair users. There are also some spaces at the front, which must be arranged in advance; you will be escorted to the first floor via separate lifts, which are identical, and immediately next to the public lifts, but behind a security barrier. Floor nine is taken up by London's Living Room, which has spectacular views across London. It is open on alternate weekends, on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. From here, there is a dramatic spiral staircase that winds down to the Assembly Chamber. Frustratingly for our surveyor, this is not wheelchair accessible, engendering a sense of exclusion. The lift provides an alternative, less interesting way down. All the meeting rooms have an induction loop. The only public toilets are on the lower Ground Floor, behind the information booth at the bottom of the ramp. There is one wheelchair toilet (Door width 90cm Side transfer distance 100cm) here. We were told that improvements to signage and internal access are due over the next few months.