Service providers are at risk of breaking the law if they do not include specific assisted-access facilities in new build or refurbishment projects.
The Equality Act, which replaced the Disability Discrimination Act in 2010, states that services (including shops, tourist attractions, restaurants) are required to make reasonable changes to their premises to ensure disabled customers are not at any substantial disadvantage.
For many of the UK’s 11 million registered disabled population conventional wheelchair-accessible toilets are unsuitable.
Margaret Clough, whose daughter Julie is a severely disabled adult, is one of the many people petitioning for venues to install Changing Places hygiene facilities by Clos-o-Mat.
Changing Places facilities have been designed with more space than current wheelchair-accessible toilets. As standard, they include a hoist, an adult-sized adjustable changing table and a privacy screen.
Margaret commented: “There are over 8,000 public toilets in the UK, excluding ones we use in cafes, bars, at hospitals, tourist attractions. Yet there are fewer than 800 Changing Places toilets.
There are at least 1.5million wheelchair users in the UK. One in 10 people suffers from bladder or bowel incontinence: There is clearly a need, and we would maintain adding these toilets on top of existing accessible facilities is a reasonable alteration.”
Contact:
Closomat
Building 1, Brooklands Place,
Brooklands Road,
Sale,
Cheshire,
M33 6SD,
United Kingdom
Mitsubishi Electric will host a CIBSE Journal webinar on Wednesday 24th April 2024 at 1pm to discuss the legislation and initiatives driving changes in the way we will need to heat, cool and ventilate large commercial buildings to reach net zero emissions in the UK.
Posted in Air Conditioning, Articles, Building Industry Events, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Regulations & Accreditations, Building Services, Facility Management & Building Services, Heating Systems, Controls and Management, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - HVAC, Information Technology, Pipes & Fittings, Plumbing, Seminars, Sustainability & Energy Efficiency, TrainingAt the heart of an efficient heat pump system lies an important element: the refrigerant – Jason Allen, Commercial Product Manager, Groupe Atlantic UK, ROI & NA. Hamworthy Heating is a Groupe Atlantic brand.
Posted in Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Facility Management & Building Services, Heating Systems, Controls and Management, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - HVAC, Pipes & Fittings, Plumbing, Retrofit & Renovation, Sustainability & Energy EfficiencyMore than 120,000 EJOT Colorfast self-drilling fasteners have helped Kingspan to create a thermally superior, visually-appealing building envelope for its first purpose-built manufacturing plant in South East Asia.
Posted in Articles, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Systems, Case Studies, Posts, Restoration & Refurbishment, Retrofit & Renovation, Roofs, Sustainability & Energy EfficiencyImproving sustainability performance is becoming a higher priority for building developers, owners and users. One consequence is fast-growing demand for green building certifications — and therefore specification. Specialist input can make the difference between hitting and missing a project target, as ASSA ABLOY explains here…
Posted in Access Control & Door Entry Systems, Architectural Ironmongery, Articles, BIM, Infrastructure & CAD Software, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Regulations & Accreditations, Building Services, Case Studies, Doors, Facility Management & Building Services, Information Technology, Retrofit & Renovation, Security and Fire Protection, Sustainability & Energy Efficiency