Guide Dogs UK has moved out of a London office-share with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) after the latter ended the lease on its building.
In December, Guide Dogs’ London-based staff moved from RNIB’s old office on Judd Street to the British Medical Association’s building in Tavistock Square.
RNIB accepted an offer for its Judd Street office in 2021 for an undisclosed sum and plans to move out in the coming weeks. The property has been valued at £21.6m.
‘An understanding of accessibility requirements’
Chris Austin, Guide Dogs’ head of property services, explained that co-sharing office space was beneficial for both parties.
As vision impairment charities, there were many places the charities’ missions overlapped, which made it easier for them to work together.
Austin said: “Guide Dogs was fortunate to have the RNIB as the landlord of our London Community site for five years. This arrangement offered a range of benefits to both the staff who worked there and our joint service users beyond the typical landlord/tenant commercial agreement.
“There was a built-in willingness to support the charity’s requirements and an understanding of the accessible requirements that people with sight loss who used the building would require. This made fitting the space with things such as tactile surfaces, handrails and clear contrasts signage a far simpler process.
“Similarly, because there are many members of staff at RNIB who are guide dog owners, there was a natural understanding about on-site dog access and their requirements within a working office. Staff and dog welfare was considered equally important and their needs were accommodated in a flexible way.”
However, Guide Dogs has now moved into a larger building, and Austin admitted there were some benefits to having more tenants in the building.
“We’ve only been in our new home in London for a couple of months but when all our dogs were evacuated in a recent fire alarm drill, it offered the perfect opportunity to talk to lots of new people about the benefits of volunteering for guide dogs,” he said.
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