Disability Access to Buildings

The Law

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 aims to end the discrimination which many disabled people face, and gives them rights in, employment, access to goods, facilities and services and buying or renting land or property.

The employment rights and the first rights of access came into force on 2 December 1996. Further rights of access came into force on 1 October 1999 and the final rights of access will come into force in October 2004.

Access to goods, facilities and services

From October 2004, service providers will have to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises, if it is impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to access their service.

Buildings

All new buildings, those subject to change of use or material alteration are subject to Planning and Building Regulation controls. These are enacted through the relevant Local Authority Planning and Building Control Departments, and these should be contacted for advice in such situations.

Although the provisions of both planning and building control are closely co-ordinated between the different regions in the UK, variations exist between some requirements for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Regulations are supported by Approved Documents and Technical Standards, which give advice on ways of achieving the regulations. For access to and within buildings and facilities for disabled people; these are;

BS 8300

This British Standard code explains how the built environment can be designed to make it accessible and to anticipate and overcome restrictions that prevent disabled people making full use of premises and their surroundings. The guidance given covers a wide range of impairments and for a wide range of activities.

The guidance is based on recent research sponsored by the ODPM, and although primarily aimed to support the design of new buildings, the recommendations given also apply for assessing accessibility and usability of existing buildings and where practicable, used as a basis for their improvement. It is applicable to a wide range of building types, such as dwellings and those used for transport and industrial activities, administrative and commercial, health and welfare, entertainment, religious, education cultural, scientific purposes.