Funding Boost Enhances Access and Inclusion at Popular Glasgow Arts Venue
24/09/2026
A social enterprise arts venue in Glasgow’s city centre has completed a major accessibility upgrade.
The Boardwalk, Impact Arts' social enterprise arts venue and theatre for hire, announced the successful installation of new automatic entrance doors, made possible through funding from the FCC Communities Foundation’s Scottish Action Fund.
This major accessibility upgrade represents a significant step in The Boardwalk's commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible space for all.
The new doors are helping visitors access the venue more easily and independently, enhancing the experience for people with a wide range of access needs.
The funding enabled the organisations to replace six sets of heavy, non-automatic fire doors with new automatic opening fire doors, significantly improving ease of movement throughout the venue. Located along two main corridors, these doors provide essential access to various office spaces, studios, and our 120-seat black box theatre, making access far easier for audiences attending performances.
This upgrade will directly benefit thousands of disabled visitors, early-career artists, creatives, community groups, families, and young people who use The Boardwalk each year.
The whole team at Impact Arts and The Boardwalk are deeply grateful to the FCC Scottish Action Fund for making this transformative project possible.
Penny Horne, Grant Manager, FCC Communities Foundation said “We are delighted to have supported this important accessibility project at The Boardwalk through our Scottish Action Fund. By funding the installation of automatic entrance and fire doors, we have helped remove barriers and improve independent access throughout the venue for thousands of visitors each year. Projects like this demonstrate how targeted funding can make a real difference, ensuring community spaces are welcoming, inclusive and accessible for everyone who uses them.”
Fran Armour, head of development at Impact Arts, said: “Accessibility starts at the front door. This investment is about much more than a building improvement. It's about ensuring people can enter The Boardwalk with confidence, independence, and dignity.
“We want everyone to feel welcome from the moment they arrive, and these improvements bring us another step closer to creating a venue that is truly accessible to all.”
The Boardwalk welcomed more than 44,000 visitors in 2025-26 including young people participating in Impact Arts programmes and members of the public attending performances, workshops, exhibitions, rehearsals, theatre performances, conferences, and a wide variety of events.
In light of the recent loss of several arts venues and theatres in the city, The Boardwalk has become an essential cultural resource for Glasgow, providing affordable meeting rooms, rehearsal studios, and theatre performance space for hire for over 200 organisations annually across arts, third sector, and theatre organisations.
As Impact Arts' social enterprise venue, The Boardwalk also plays a key role in supporting the charity’s mission to tackle inequalities and address poverty across Scotland through creative engagement, with venue income going towards the charity’s work.
Pictured below is the completed work.
