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Legislation
FAQs |
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DDA
and building regulations
Disability Discrimination
Act - What you need to know |
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| Q:
How will the introduction
of Amendment III to the
Disability Discrimination
Act (1995) effect me? |
1. Duties in the employment
field and provision of services
to the public mean that,
as of 1st October 2004,
the exemption for employers
with fewer than 15 employees
ceased. Therefore, you may
be required to make reasonable
adjustments to physical
features of existing buildings
and to any new buildings.
Reasonable provision now
has to be made for disabled
access and use.
2. The regulations are retrospective
- the DDA applies to ALL
existing buildings, as well
as any new ones.
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| Q:
What will happen if I don't
provide disabled access? |
Offenders may be faced with
legal action over non-compliance
with the DDA. In April 2000,
the Government established
the Disability Rights Commission
to police the compliance
issues relating to the Disability
Discrimination Act. The
commission assists disabled
groups and individuals to
take action against anyone
who has a building that
does not comply.
The new Part M of the Building
Regulations (Part R in N.
Ireland) came into effect
on 1st May 2004. Part M
of the Building Regulations
(2004) no longer refers
to disabled access but instead
to access for all. This
is because a parent pushing
a child's buggy, for example,
will face nearly as many
difficulties when trying
to enter a building as a
wheelchair user. The aim
of the new Part M is to
foster a more inclusive
approach to design and accommodate
the needs of all people
regardless of disability,
age or gender. |
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| Q:
What effect does Part M
have? |
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new Part M Regulations apply
to ALL buildings over 30m²,
delivered after 1 May 2004,
which will remain on site
for 28 days or more. In
effect, ramped access to
principal entrance doors
should now be provided to
all buildings, delivered
after 1 May 2004. This applies
regardless of any existing
provision for disabled access,
the intended use of the
buildings, and whether or
not you employ any people
with disabilities. |
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| Q:
What about public access
buildings with under 30m²
floor space? |
You will still need to provide
disabled access to the principal
entrance doors, but, as
the building is under 30m²,
the access ramp does not
have to conform to Part
M of the Building Regulations.
What you must do, however,
is to make "reasonable
provision" for disabled
access. Our range of 1200mm
wide modular ramp systems
is ideal for this. |
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| Q:
What is the difference between
a ramp system for a building
over 30m² compared
to one with under 30m²
of floor space? |
Part M Regulations for access
to buildings over 30m²
has been made far more stringent.
The most obvious difference
is that ramps have to be
longer and wider. The unobstructed
width required by the new
regulations is 1500mm, compared
with 1200mm previously.
The travel distances between
landings (dictated by the
gradient at which the ramp
is set) have been greatly
reduced, which means that
all new ramp systems will
be set at a new lower gradient
of 1:15. The ramp surface
also has to be slip resistant,
especially in the wet. Ramp
slopes, landings and kickplates
need to be colour contrasting.
Handrails must be provided
to both sides of the ramp,
with a visual contrast to
their background and must
be warm to the touch and
anti-slip. All ramps that
achieve a rise of 300mm
or greater must have (where
possible) steps to the main
landing. Our new Techramp
system fulfils all the requirements
of Part M. |
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| Q:
Where else can I get advice? |
| In
all circumstances your local
Building Control office
(www.labc-services.co.uk)
will give impartial advice.
You can also contact your
local disabled access action
group - details available
from the Disability Rights
Commission (www.drc-gb.org)
- or contact the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister
(www.odpm.gov.uk). |
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| Internal Disability Access Ramp |
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| Residential Disability Access Ramp |
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| Colour Contrasting Handrail to Disability Access Ramp |
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| External Disability Access Ramp to Church |
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