uilding Regulations approved Document M’s criteria for a conventional wheelchair-accessible toilet assumes that the user can transfer from their wheelchair unaided, and that they can use a standard WC. A large number cannot. They need the help of a carer, so need more space. They need lifting. They need to be changed, or deal with continence paraphernalia.
Campaigners are lobbying for change to the regulations. The document currently states that at the very least, if space is an issue, then a unisex wheelchair-accessible toilet should be provided. Campaigners would like to see that addressed so that the basic minimum is a wheelchair-accessible toilet that offers more space and includes a hoist and adult changing bench. They want an assisted, wheelchair-accessible toilet. Currently, that is only ‘desirable’ – not compulsory – under legislation, good practice guidelines.
By adding a little more space – in reality just an additional 5.5m² – the needs of the majority are met. If space allows, specifiers can add extra toilet options – for example, for ambulant disabled, wheelchair-accessible toilets that provide either left or right transfer.
In an ideal world, every outlet that provides ‘public’ toilet facilities would have what is known as a Changing Places toilet. Under British Standards (BS89300:2009), which the latest Document M cross references, a Changing Places is “desirable” in buildings to which numbers of the public have access.
It should be 4 x 3m and include, among other equipment, a peninsular WC, ceiling track hoist and height-adjustable, adult-sized changing bench; it should also be provided in addition to basic wheelchair-accessible toilet facilities. In a new-build project, it is potentially easier to design in a Changing Places, as you’re working with a blank canvas. There is greater potential to accommodate the extra space and stronger structure; bear in mind much of the equipment needs to be mounted on walls or ceilings, so needs to be appropriately load-bearing.
But we don’t live in an ideal world. This prompted campaigners to devise their own compromise, for where there isn’t the space, or budget, to provide a Changing Places. Space to Change takes a Document M unisex wheelchair-accessible toilet, and expands it by that 5.5m2 to enable inclusion of a hoist system and adult-sized changing bench. A Space to Change also does not require the load-bearing structural capabilities; the hoist and changing bench can be mobile, floorstanding versions. Alton Towers and Portsmouth International Port are just two venues that have appreciated the benefit to customers, and added these facilities.
Specifying such a facility means that, in one washroom, the toileting needs of potentially 14 million people – one in five of our population – are met. And don’t forget to factor in they are probably out with a carer or their family, so it’s not just one person being accommodated but potentially at least double that. It is, to many of them, still a compromise but it means that when they are visiting a venue they can relax, spend time and money.
Research by Tourism for All finds that parties that include a disabled member spend £14bn a year on tourism and travel – and they spend more and stay longer. So beyond the moral, ethical argument, there is a sound financial argument to make the adjustment.
