A worked example: the access section of a Design and Access Statement

Why this scheme needs a statement at all

Under article 9(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, a design and access statement is required for major development.

Article 2(1)(d) defines major development as including the provision of a building where the floor space created is 1,000 square metres or more. Why three of the five requirements are about access is set out separately. At about 1,450 square metres, this scheme qualifies, so a statement is required and the access content below answers 9(3)(c), (d) and (e).

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1. Access policy for this development

The scheme adopts a single-entrance principle. There is one principal entrance, at grade, used by every visitor. No separate accessible route, no side door, no bell.

Step-free access is provided to every part of the building to which the public has access, including both storeys, the main hall at both stalls and raised levels, and the external terrace.

The building is designed to be used independently. Where assistance is available it is offered, not required, and no part of the public offer is conditional on asking a member of staff for help.

Sensory and cognitive access are treated as design requirements rather than fit-out decisions, and are addressed at section 4.6 rather than left to the operator.

2. Local planning policy

The scheme has been designed against [Local Plan Policy reference, inclusive design or accessible development policy for this authority], which requires [summarise the policy requirement in the authority's own terms].

Regard has also been had to [the authority's supplementary planning document on access or inclusive design, if one exists], and the application has been prepared against the access items in [the authority's validation checklist].

Note for anybody using this as a model: these three references are the only part of an access section that cannot be prepared in advance. They are specific to the authority, they change, and a planning officer looking for their own policy number and not finding it is the most common reason an otherwise good statement generates a query.

3. Consultation undertaken on access

An access consultant was appointed at RIBA Stage 2, before the entrance strategy and level strategy were fixed, and has reviewed the scheme at Stages 2 and 3.

A disabled people's organisation was consulted at concept stage. [Name the organisation and the date.] The consultation covered arrival, the entrance sequence, the main hall and the sanitary provision.

Three things changed as a result, and they are recorded here because the outcome is what 9(3)(d) asks for.

First, the accessible parking bays were relocated. The original layout placed them at the end of the row furthest from the entrance, on the reasoning that the route was level throughout. The consultation established that the distance mattered more than the gradient, and the bays were moved to the head of the row, reducing the route to the entrance from about 60 metres to 18.

Second, the wheelchair spaces in the main hall were redistributed. The original layout grouped all six at the rear. They are now provided in three locations at two levels, with a companion seat beside each, so that a wheelchair user can choose where to sit and can sit with the people they came with.

Third, the Changing Places toilet was moved from the first floor to the ground floor, adjacent to the main hall, following a specific point raised about the practicality of using a lift in an interval of twenty minutes.

One recommendation was not adopted. A second lift was proposed to reduce queuing at the interval. It was not pursued on cost grounds, and the mitigation is set out at section 4.3.

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4. Specific access issues and how they are addressed

4.1 Arrival, parking and approach

Accessible parking bays are provided at 2,400mm by 4,800mm, with a 1,200mm access zone between and at either end of the bays and a 1,200mm safety zone for boot and rear-hoist access, to BS 8300-1. The bays are located at the head of the parking area, within 18 metres of the principal entrance.

A setting-down point is provided immediately adjacent to the entrance, under cover.

The route from the bays and from the public footway to the entrance is level, with no gradient steeper than 1:20 in any direction, and is 1,800mm wide throughout. Surfaces are firm, even and slip resistant, with no loose material. The route is lit to BS 8300-1 Table 5.

Cycle parking, bin stores and the service route have been positioned so that they cannot encroach on the accessible route. This is a maintenance point as much as a design one and is picked up at section 4.7.

4.2 Entrance

The principal entrance is at grade with a level threshold. It is the only public entrance and is used by all visitors.

Doors are automatic sliding, providing 1,000mm of effective clear opening width, with activation zones marked on the floor and safety sensors across the full approach. Manual override doors adjacent provide 800mm effective clear width at an opening force not exceeding 30 newtons at the leading edge, to Approved Document M Volume 2.

Glazing to the entrance screen carries manifestation in two bands, at 850mm to 1,000mm and 1,400mm to 1,600mm above floor level, contrasting with the background seen through the glass.

The reception counter is provided at two heights, with a lowered section at 760mm with knee recess, and is fitted with a counter induction loop (section 4.6).

4.3 Horizontal and vertical circulation

Public corridors are 1,800mm wide, exceeding the 1,200mm minimum, to allow two wheelchair users to pass. Turning spaces of 1,500mm by 1,500mm are provided at changes of direction, and an 1,800mm turning space is provided at the end of the first floor corridor, which terminates at the studios.

Doors on public routes provide 800mm effective clear width with a 300mm nib to the leading edge on the pull side, and corridor width is maintained at not less than 1,200mm when any door is open.

A passenger lift serves both storeys. The car is 1,400mm by 1,400mm, exceeding the 1,100mm by 1,400mm minimum, to allow a wheelchair user to turn rather than reverse out. The door provides 800mm clear width, controls are between 900mm and 1,200mm above floor level with tactile markings, and floor arrival is indicated both visually and audibly.

On the single lift. A second lift was considered and not pursued. The mitigation is that the Changing Places toilet, the accessible WC serving the hall, the cafe and the main hall itself are all at ground floor level, so that no visitor needs to use the lift during a performance interval. First floor use is limited to the studios and offices, which operate on a booked basis with managed arrival times.

4.4 Sanitary provision

A wheelchair-accessible unisex toilet is provided on each storey, at 1,500mm by 2,200mm for a corner layout, with 950mm of clear transfer space beside the WC kept free of bins and sanitary units, a 1,500mm turning circle, and an emergency alarm on a pull cord with two red bangles at approximately 100mm and between 800mm and 1,000mm above floor level, with audible and visual indication outside the room.

Ambulant accessible cubicles are provided within the male and female provision on both storeys, at not less than 800mm internal width with grab rails to both side walls.

A Changing Places toilet is provided at ground floor level, adjacent to the main hall. The main hall has a capacity of 420, which exceeds the 350-person threshold at which Approved Document M has required a Changing Places toilet in new assembly, recreation and entertainment buildings since 1 January 2021. The room is approximately 12 square metres at 3,000mm by 4,000mm, with a 2,400mm ceiling height to accommodate the hoist track, a full-coverage ceiling track hoist, a height-adjustable adult changing bench of approximately 1,800mm by 800mm, a peninsular WC with drop-down rails to both sides, a height-adjustable washbasin, a privacy screen and disposal.

Toilet accommodation has been designed to Approved Document T, which has applied to new buildings other than dwellings since 1 October 2024. Universal toilets are provided in addition to, and not in place of, the wheelchair-accessible unisex toilets above.

4.5 Means of escape for disabled people

Refuges are provided at the protected stairway at first floor level, each at not less than 900mm by 1,400mm and clear of the escape route, with two-way emergency voice communication to a permanently staffed point, the call button between 900mm and 1,200mm above floor level, and operating instructions displayed.

The lift is not an evacuation lift. The evacuation strategy therefore relies on refuges and assisted evacuation, and the operator will be required to maintain a general emergency evacuation plan for visitors and personal emergency evacuation plans for staff, with trained operators for the evacuation chair provided at the head of the stair.

Fire alarm devices provide both audible and visual signals throughout, including within every toilet, the Changing Places room and the studios, so that a deaf or hard of hearing occupant who is alone behind a closed door is alerted.

4.6 Visual, auditory and cognitive environment

Visual contrast of not less than 30 points of Light Reflectance Value is provided between critical surfaces and their backgrounds: door leaves against walls, door furniture against leaves, sanitary ware against walls and floors, and nosings against treads. Glazing and lighting have been arranged to limit glare at the entrance transition, where the change from external to internal light levels is greatest.

A hearing enhancement system is provided at the reception counter, in the main hall, and in both studios. Systems will be commissioned by a specialist and certified to BS EN 60118-4, and the signage will state the covered area rather than simply displaying the symbol.

Wayfinding has been designed to limit the number of decisions between the entrance and each destination, with confirmation at each decision point. Signage uses standard public information symbols, with text sized for its viewing distance, and is positioned on the latch side of doors at 1,500mm to the centre line rather than on the leaf.

Sensory and cognitive design follows PAS 6463:2022. Lighting is specified to avoid visible flicker, a quiet space is provided off the foyer with its own low-stimulation lighting and acoustic treatment, and the route from the entrance to the hall avoids the sharp transition from a quiet corridor into a hard, bright, reverberant foyer.

4.7 Management and maintenance

Inclusive access is sustained by management as much as by design, and the following are recommended as planning conditions or as commitments in the operator's management plan.

The accessible route from the parking bays to the entrance is kept clear of bins, cycle parking, A-boards and deliveries, and this is written into the service and waste management procedure rather than left to judgement.

The hearing enhancement systems are tested on a documented schedule by a specialist, with the certificate retained and the test date available on request.

The refuges and the 950mm transfer spaces in the accessible toilets are kept clear of storage, and the emergency alarm cords are kept reaching the floor.

Front-of-house staff are trained in the operation of the hearing enhancement system, the evacuation chair, and the general emergency evacuation plan, with refresher training at least annually.

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5. Standards applied

Approved Document M Volume 2, 2015 edition incorporating the 2020 and 2024 amendments. Approved Document T, 2024 edition. Approved Document B for means of escape. BS 8300-1:2018 and BS 8300-2:2018. BS EN 60118-4 for hearing enhancement commissioning. PAS 6463:2022 for sensory and cognitive design. The Equality Act 2010 anticipatory duty, which applies to the building in use and is the reason section 4.7 exists.