Disability Wales  Anabledd Cymru
Policy Statement
Equal Access within the
Built Environment
“Disability Wales aims to remove all disabling barriers in
society”
Disability Wales Strategic Plan, 2004
What is the Built Environment?
Buildings of any kind – but also other parts of the environment like:
 the routes between buildings
 pedestrianised shopping precincts
 concourses
 pavements and footpaths
 man-made elements in the countryside (all categories of footpath /
highway and associated gates; styles; bridges etc.)
 open urban spaces, like Cardiff Bay area or Swansea Marina
(called the “public realm”)
 historic buildings or monuments
 temporary structures, like outdoor events or concerts
 public parks and gardens
 transport links and infrastructure
What are the access barriers in the Built Environment
facing disabled people in Wales?
Background
Despite the introduction of disability discrimination legislation,
particularly the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, (DDA) disabled
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people in Wales still face a multitude of physical, institutional and
attitudinal barriers. A recent survey undertaken by the Disability Rights
Commission on physical barriers to goods and services suggests that
the Social Model of Disability is not being applied at the ground level to
effect social change and ensure an equal chance of participating in
society.
Built environment and access barriers
Using the built environment is important for accessing services like
shops, leisure centres, cinema, medical and other essential services
 Seven in ten (73%) disabled people with mobility and sensory
impairments in Great Britain say that they have difficulty
accessing goods and services.
 Four in ten (43%) respondents report that they find it very or
quite difficult to buy goods and services
 76% of disabled people in Wales faced at least some difficulty
accessing services
 The factors likely to create the most difficulty are barriers to
access to the built environment, namely:
- Steps at entrance of building 45%
- Heavy internal/external doors 40%
- Use of disabled parking by non-disabled customers 39%.
- No lifts 37%
- No accessible toilet 25%.
(Source: Disability Rights Commission)
Other research concluded that:
“Findings… suggest that disabled people continue to experience
poor access provision in their day to day lives. In addition to
physical access barriers, the issue of getting to the premises and
attitudinal barriers, such as poor levels of disability awareness
and communication, were raised.”
(Source: Disability Rights Commission)
Why do disabling barriers still exist in Wales?
Disability Wales/Anabledd Cymru believes that the current legal
obligations to not discriminate against disabled people continues to
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display major weaknesses, and needs to be underpinned by a Social
Model perspective.
Meeting the duties of the Disability Discrimination Act Part 3 is not
the same as adopting the Social Model of Disability.
 The DDA is not comprehensive civil rights legislation, and is not
intended to fundamentally change society in terms of eliminating all
disabling barriers and promoting equality. For example, the right to
an accessible house is not covered by the DDA duties.
The legal process underpinning the DDA ultimately depends on:
 individual disabled people who are discriminated against taking
civil proceedings against service providers or employers who may
have substantial resources to defend themselves.
and:
 This can be a costly and time-consuming process, and despite
having an enforcement body (the Disability Rights Commission,
soon to be replaced by the Commission for Equality & Human
Rights), the DDA has only produced a handful of positive case
results relating to, for example, equal access to goods and
services. and even fewer relating to the built environment
Other legal obligations include Part M of the Building Regulations
2004, which seeks to remove many disabling barriers to public
buildings and dwellings as they are built or refurbished. While the new
Part M is a major improvement on the older version, the evidence from
our member groups indicates that:
 it is not being implemented on the ground – partly due to lack of
policing and monitoring by the local authorities and the change to a
privatised building inspector regime.
 Many buildings are still being built that are not accessible, or fall
short of the standards laid out in Part M, (and it must be
remembered that these are only minimum standards to begin with)
 Access statements for new projects in some instances are not
being submitted with planning applications or are not robust enough
to create accessible buildings. There is inconsistency in the formats
of access statements used by planning authorities and developers.
 Inclusive design ideas and solutions are not being used in new
projects. Feedback from our member groups suggests that
“disability access” is still often an afterthought, or a bolt-on extra,
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rather than being factored in at the beginning of every proposal via
access statements

Many buildings in Wales were constructed before even the old Part
M came into being. There is a need to evaluate whether the DDA
2004 duty to remove obstructive physical features to services is
making these older buildings accessible.
 Lack of awareness among building professionals and politicians is
exemplified by some new projects failing to comply with minimum
standards but nevertheless being given architectural and design
awards.
What are the UK and Welsh Assembly Governments
doing about promoting an accessible built environment?
 The UK Government amended the Building Regulations Part M
document to harmonise with the DDA 2004 duty to remove
(obstructive) physical features to premises. It is a major
improvement on the previous document in terms of content and
scope.
 British Standard BS8300, which provides detailed design
guidance on accessible buildings, is being revised.
 The UK Government introduced a new duty on public bodies to
promote disability equality and produce disability equality
schemes (DES) from December 2006. This will affect public
bodies in Wales, who as listed bodies1 need to produce an action
plan linked to the DES. The action plan needs to cover, among
other things, planning, highways and building control functions.
 The DRC has produced useful guidance on the Disability
Equality Duty and planning, buildings and streets
 The UK Government has amended the planning system to
include the need to use access statements in planning
applications
 Welsh Assembly Government has introduced a similar duty to
make access statements mandatory for the vast majority of
planning applications. The duty began in June 2007 and WAG
has produced guidance for local planning authorities.
1
Listed in Appendix A of the Code of Practice to the 2005 DDA
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 Welsh Assembly Government has produced a strategic
framework document, Planning: Delivering for Wales, and
technical advice notes on transport and design
 WAG has produced the Wales Spatial Plan “People, Places,
Futures”
 WAG is supporting access initiatives like the Ministerial
Accessible Venues working party
What Disability Wales/Anabledd Cymru is demanding
At the international level:
 Implementation of the European Concept of Accessibility document,
produced by the European Union
 Research into the feasibility of a European Access Code, similar to
the American with Disabilities Act Access Code, to ensure the
implementation of consistent access standards in all EU nations,
including Wales.
At the UK level:
 Rigorous implementation and policing of the Part M 2004
requirements
 Continual revision of the Building Regulations to cover all new,
adapted, extended and other existing public, commercial and
domestic buildings, including dwellings.
 Amendment of the DDA to ensure that inclusive design matters
relating to the built environment are systematically addressed at the
planning stage and through the building control process
 Rigorous implementation of the contents of any access statement
made during a planning application and a standardised format for
access statements.
 Compulsory Inclusive Design & Disability Equality Training for
designers, architects and planners through undergraduate and
post-qualifying training
 Increasing the uptake of disabled people to train as designers and
architects, and ensuring the relevant higher education institutions
are accessible under the DDA/SENDA legislation
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At the Wales level:
 That all buildings and premises owned and operated by public
bodies, service providers and employers in Wales must be equally
accessible for disabled people within a reasonable timescale.
 That accessibility of premises is a condition of grant for any body or
organisation in Wales which is a beneficiary of such public funding.
 That the Planning: Delivering for Wales: strategic planning guidance
should be reviewed, and a comprehensive section on inclusive
design added.
 That a Technical Advice Note or national Supplementary Planning
Guidance should be developed on Inclusive Design, as exemplified
by the document “Accessible London: achieving an inclusive
environment”.
 That a review of current policy guidance on Access to Historic
Buildings and production of best practice guidance for owners and
providers is undertaken.
 That all public spaces not within the scope of the DDA or building
regulations are designed to inclusive design best practice standards
 That the Wales planning system is audited to ensure that inclusive
design is a requirement of all planning applications and processes.
 That higher education institutions in Wales responsible for design
and architecture courses deliver teaching on inclusive design
throughout the curriculum
 That design professionals receive disability equality and inclusive
design training as a mandatory element of continuing professional
development.
 That steps are taken to ensure the implementation of a quality
standards approach applicable to DET trainers and access auditors
and consultants in Wales. This will guarantee the quality of advice
and training given to clients seeking expert training and advice on
disability and access issues.
 That any “shared space” scheme designed to promote the shared
use of the streetscape and pedestrian environment by vehicles and
pedestrians fully takes into account the requirements and
aspirations of disabled people.
At the local level:
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 All buildings and premises owned and used by local public bodies
and authorities must be equitably accessible for disabled people
and should be regularly upgraded to reflect best practice.
 That local authorities properly and effectively use their powers to
promote removal and prevention of disabling barriers – for example,
through Building Regulation Part M and the new planning duty to
promote inclusive design.
 That local authorities robustly challenge inadequate, inaccessible or
unsatisfactory works certificated by Approved Building Control
Inspectors in relation to Building Regulation Part M.
 That local authorities and public bodies engage effectively with
representative disability organisations in delivering the new
disability equality duty in relation to accessible built environments.
 That local authorities fully involve and engage with disabled
people, through local representative disability groups, on all
inclusive building design and planning issues and at all stages of
the planning and building control process
 That local Access groups and other local disability organisations
must be effectively resourced and supported by local public bodies
This information is also available in Braille, large print,
audio tape or on disc.
For more information, contact:
Disability Wales
Bridge House
Caerphilly Business Park
Van Road
Caerphilly CF83 3GW
T: +44 029 2088 7325 (use announcer for minicom)
F: +44 029 2088 8702
E: info@dwac.demon.co.uk
W: www.disabilitywales.org
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