Accessibility Guide

Make It York is proud to organise many free events and festivals throughout the year for residents and visitors to enjoy. We are committed to ensuring that everyone can participate, with access requirements in place to support with additional needs.

Below is our accessibility guide to York Christmas Market

York Christmas Market

Parliament Street & St Sampson’s Square, York, YO1 8RY

01904 551551

Info@makeityork.com

Opening Hours

10.00am - 7.00pm

Thursday 16th November – Friday 22nd December

Introduction

York Christmas Market is located on Parliament Street and St Samsons Square. The City of York Council has put a number of measures in place in York city centre to improve access for disabled people. Further information can be found below:

City Centre Disabled Access

Access in York Map

To assist pre planning to the event and what to expect when you arrive, we have outlined

• All stalls, food and drink concessions are accessible and any raised structures will feature access ramps.
• The revised layout introduced in 2023 allows for much wider paved areas across the site with no enclosed spaces. This greatly improves space for crowd movement which will reduce crowd density.
• Signage will be large, clear and positioned in suitable locations.
• Lighting – the site features a combination of street lighting, Christmas lights and stall/shop lighting – there will be no strobe lighting on site.
• Event staff/Security/Stewards - All stewards and security personal have been briefed to signpost/assist members of the public where possible. If they can’t give you an exact answer they will be able to contact the specific person for your needs who will be able to help.
• First Aid – We have first aid provision for the duration of the market and a first aid point at the Pavement end of Parliament St. If you are in need of urgent medical attention then please contact any member of staff or go to the first aid point.

York Christmas Market 2023 Layout - Traders Map

Designated Quiet Periods

We understand that York Christmas Market can be a busy event at peak times (especially weekends) which can be overwhelming to some attendees.

We are integrating designated quieter periods where music will be minimal from 10am – 12pm each day.

Parking

City centre foot streets will be closed to vehicle access between 10.30am - 7.00pm for the duration of the market.

The nearest car park to the Christmas Market is Coppergate Car Park (approx 120m)

For more information on car parks around the city: All council car parks

Further information on Blue Badge parking in York can be found here. 

Outside Access

All stalls are located on the pedestrian area of Parliament St and St Sampson’s Sq.

All drop kerbs and tactile crossing points will be maintained.

Some of the pavement surface is uneven due to tree roots.

All stalls are either counter service or have a temporary ramp into the stall.

Accessible Toilet Provision

The nearest accessible and standard toilets can be found on Silver St, approx 40m from the market. For further information on public toilets in York city centre can be found here: Public toilets in York

Public toilets in York are cleaned and maintained by Healthmatic and you can report any issues on telephone: 01249 823143. Toilet locations are outlined below with accessible toilets (require a RADAR key):

• St Leonard's Place public toilets, St Leonard's Place, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EW
• Coppergate Shopping Centre public toilets, Coppergate, York, YO1 9NT
• Nunnery Lane public toilets, Nunnery Lane car park, York, YO23 1AA
• St George's Field public toilets, St George's Field car and coach Park, Castle Mills Bridge, York, YO10 4AB
• Rougier Street public toilets, Rougier Street, York, YO1 6JB
• Silver Street public toilets, Silver Street, York, YO1 8RY
• Union Terrace public toilets, Union Terrace car and coach park, Clarence Street, York, YO31 7ES

Counter Terrorism barriers

In 2023, a number of permanent barriers have been installed by City of York Council around the perimeter of the footstreets and temporary barriers at Blake St, Colliergate and Parliament St are installed for public safety – each barrier follows national guidelines with a maximum space access of 1.2m wide.

All sites are managed by CCTV or staffed by stewards who are happy to assist or contact a specific person for your needs if required.

If you would like to discuss access requirements for York Christmas Market, please email events@makeityork.com

City of York Council works in partnership with AccessAble to give you the detailed information you need to work out if a place is going to be accessible to you.

AccessAble’s Detailed Access Guides tell you all about a venue's access – hotels and guest houses, places to eat and drink, places to visit and much more. They are 100% facts, figures and photographs. We know everyone's accessibility needs are different, which is why having detailed, accurate information is so important. It's why AccessAble send trained surveyors to check out every single place in person and why the information collected has all been decided by the people who use it.

Check out access information for York - before you leave home or on the move using AccessAble’s App and website.