There are 10 million people with disabilities in the uk. One year from now they can sue you if you keep them out.
 

Do I slap a ramp on my listed building?

How well do you know your responsibilities under the new discrimination act?

What sort of buildings come under Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995?
All who provide a service to the public or a section of the public: shops, cafés, dentists, banks, solicitors, garages and hairdressers What do they have to do to comply?
Make reasonable changes. What is reasonable will depend on effectiveness, practicality, disruption and costs. For instance, it may be sufficient for a retailer to display a reasonable cross-section of its goods on the ground floor, use larger print signs or Braille, widen aisles and doorways and have specially trained staff to assist. Ask yourself whether there are enough facilities in and outside such as toilets and whether the fire alarms, reception areas or checkout desks are too high. By when do they have to comply?
The third and final phase of the DDA comes into effect on 1 October 2004. This relates to Part III, which concerns the Access to Goods, Facilities, Services and Premises. Service providers must make the necessary adjustments and it would be prudent for access audits to be conducted as soon as possible. An early audit will give time to make adjustments and spread the cost over the next year. Failure to comply by 1 October 2004 will mean a disabled person can bring an action against the service provider. Are there any exemptions to Part III? Not if you provide services for the public, even if you do not receive payment. Excluded are services that are not for the public. Good examples of this are private clubs, or if you are a manufacturer or a designer and you don’t directly serve the public. If I’m halfway through building a retail space, could the DDA force me to tear down and re-build any elements of the building?
No. Substantial works may be avoided with simple measures. If the service provider fails to make reasonable adjustments to its premises by the deadline, then the disabled person will be able to commence legal proceedings. But providing a service in a different way will avoid discrimination. For example a retailer could provide on-line services or home visits if it is not possible to make physical changes. What happens if the DDA compels me to make alterations on a listed building? Will I be pinned between two conflicting pieces of legislation?
No. The DDA does not override the need to obtain any statutory consent for changes to buildings such as Listed Building consent. The Disability Rights Commission’s Code of Practice illustrates the point with a short case scenario as follows: A country house is open to the public. To enable visitors with a mobility impairment to visit, the owners are considering installing a ramped entrance. In the circumstances, installing a ramp is likely to be a reasonable adjustment for to have to make. But the service provider needs statutory consent because the house is listed. The service provider consults the local planning authority and learns that consent is likely to be given in a few weeks. In the meantime, as a temporary measure, the service provider arranges for disabled visitors to use an inconvenient but accessible entrance at the side of the house. Although not ideal, this is likely to be an acceptable solution while statutory consent is being obtained. What if a binding obligation other than a lease prevents a building being altered?
In these circumstances, the 2001 Regulations provide that it is reasonable for the service provider to have to request that consent, but that it is not reasonable for the service provider to have to make an alteration before having obtained that consent. See the Code of Practice at www.drc-gb.org

  • With the deadline only a year away, consultants should be advising their clients and contractors need to be gearing themselves for the rush of work that compliance with the Act should bring. The subject is not complicated and there is adequate guidance, most of which is BS8300: 2001 and Building Regulations Part M (Building Regulations). Coupled with these documents you just need common sense and the ability to think through the problems of those with various forms of disability. This article was prepared by the CIOB’s Faculty of Architecture and Surveying. Special thanks to Bola Akinwale Abisogun and Corrina King This article was prepared by the CIOB’s Faculty of Architecture and Surveying. Special thanks to Bola Akinwale Abisogun and Corrina King

    • Making sense of the alphabet soup

    Revised PART C? NEW PART P? Tony Dennison looks at changes for 2004

    It is now 10 years since Part A (structure) was revised and its references to British Standards have become outdated. One aspect that construction managers may miss is that safe load tables for timbers will be removed but will be republished by TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association). Part C (site preparation and resistance to moisture) is to be revised substantially. The number of regions needing protection from radon has widened and increased levels of insulation mean that greater consideration needs to be given to condensation risks. The document’s reference to contaminated land has also been amended to reflect new regulations made under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. There are also recommendations for door thresholds and jamb details for use in exposed areas of the country where severe driving rain might be anticipated. British Standard BS8300:2001 has rendered the current Part M outdated (See page 19). Specific references to disabled people are omitted and the scope will be broadened to include ‘people, including parents with children, elderly people and people with disabilities’. The document is also widened to cover buildings undergoing alterations or certain changes of use and the technical guidance now very much follows that in BS8300. The government’s fire agenda aims to prevent fires from starting in the first place. Bringing electrical safety into the building regulations can curb the number of electrical fires. But the success of the new controls, which could come into force by spring 2004, depends on the electrical industry coming up with trade certification schemes to monitor the competence of installers. Many accidents are due to faulty extension and alteration work. This new section of building regulations is to be known as Part P.

  • Consultation papers relating to changes can be found on www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs. Tony Dennison is a consultant with Butler & Young

    • How to handle the heavy weights

    Finally, a new report from BRE provides clear guidance on using dynamic compaction, the technique of dropping heavy weights onto the ground to increase its bearing capacity. “It’s not exactly high technology,” said BRE’s Ken Watts, “but any contractor carrying this out needs to understand what they’re trying to achieve and how to do it.” Typically, specialists would use a large crawler crane to pick up a 10-tonne slab of concrete and drop it from 15m. BRE claim the technique is particularly relevant in preparing brownfield land. It may not be high-tech but it is something of a black art, by virtue of the fact that only about half a dozen specialists do it regularly in the UK. Expertise is based on experience. Specifying dynamic compaction is designed to make “a level playing field” among clients and contractors by proposing standard terminology and common benchmarks for all. The guidance is on sale at the BRE bookshop for £35. Visit www.brebookshop.com or call 020 7505 6622

    True or falsework?

    Did you know you’ve got to appoint a temporary works co-ordinator to oversee the safe erection of falsework? If not, take it as a timely reminder from the Health and Safety Executive, who have just released an information sheet entitled ‘Safe erection, use and dismantling of falsework’. Investigators often find that falsework collapses, caused by poor co-ordination between the trades and falsework suppliers. Falsework is any temporary structure is used to support a permanent structure while it is not self-supporting.
  • Get the guidance free by calling 01787 881 165, or faxing 01787 313 995.

    • Source

    Construction Manager