The UK’s Labour government has set itself a Herculean task when it comes to housing.
In its manifesto ahead of last year’s general election, it committed to building 1.5m new homes over the course of the current parliament – a number that requires a higher delivery rate than has been seen in decades. At present, it is nowhere near hitting the rate required.
At the same time, the government is coming under pressure from charities and organisations such as Scope to improve the accessibility of new housing for elderly and disabled people. These groups are concerned that the political imperative to deliver the quantity promised will trump the changes to building regulations required to make homes more accessible. Do they have a point?
The most significant UK planning regulation when it comes to accessibility is Part M, which focuses on ensuring buildings are accessible to, and usable by, people of all abilities, including those with disabilities. It covers new buildings and major alterations to existing ones, addressing aspects like entrances, circulation spaces, sanitary facilities and vertical movement.
Then there is Part K, which relates to protection from falling, collision and impact in buildings. It outlines requirements for the design and construction of various building elements to minimise the risk of injury. That includes provisions for stairs, ramps, ladders, barriers and glazing, as well as guidance on preventing collisions with doors and windows.
The problem is that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not appear to be making great strides on either front. “There is nothing progressing on Part M or Part K at the moment from MHCLG,” says one source close to the department. “They did a survey on Part M accessibility back in 2021, but there has not been progress since then.”
Instead, it seems that the government has other priorities, including environmental sustainability through its Future Homes Standard (FHS) and building safety. With regards to the latter, the still nascent Building Safety Regulator (BSR), has been seen as a barrier to housing delivery, with the government recently announcing a series of reforms to the regulator, including greater resource to support application reviews.
It was also announced last month that governance of the BSR will pass from the Health and Safety Executive to MHCLG. “Presently, MHCLG is focusing on FHS and Building Safety Regulator performance and efficiency aimed at delivering the 1.5m new homes,” says the source.
“They aren’t immediately looking at bringing forward anything else on accessible building regulations but will consider it towards the second half of their term in power, so in two to three years.”
Steve Turner, executive director at the Home Builders Federation, puts it rather more diplomatically. “Homes built today have to meet building regulation requirements that ensure they are considerably more accessible than those built previously,” he says.
“The government is looking to meet a range of policy requirements, including on energy efficiency, building safety and accessibility, through to changes to building regulations. For all of which the industry is waiting on guidance to be finalised.”
Accessibility solutions
Accessibility is a complicated area and there is wide acknowledgement that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. People with differing abilities require different solutions.
“There is just a general lack of knowledge and understanding about how some seemingly small things can have such a big impact on somebody who is, for instance, a full-time wheelchair user,” says Nick Bracegirdle MRICS, founder of accessibility specialist Habilis Chartered Surveyors.
“For instance, the spatial requirements for a 16-year-old manual chair user who's quite petite are going to be very different to a 65-year-old guy who is overweight and has had a road traffic accident and now has spinal cord injury. The difference in requirements between those two is quite significant.”
As a result, Bracegirdle has some sympathy with the government when it comes to improving building regulations, describing Part M as a “reasonable baseline”. He points to some technical changes that would help, such as increasing the minimum width of doorways to help wheelchair users, but adds that accommodating all abilities in all homes is probably impossible.
“I just don't know how they would be able to implement it,” he says. “Every disability presents slightly differently. It could stifle a development if they [house builders] are forced to build a particular property that is suitable for a particular set of needs. I don't see how that would be achievable.”
However, Bracegirdle does think that accessibility should be better addressed when it comes to surveyors’ education. “When I was at university, we did cover a very basic education on accessibility, but it was more from the Part M perspective,” he says.
“When it comes to commercial property, it was never really touched on specifically. There is a general lack of understanding among contractors and architects and other surveyors that don't deal with it and knowing that what is classed as ‘accessible’ isn't always accessible.”
He provides an example: “When I do property searches for clients, an agent will list a series of photographs online and sometimes they don't detail that there is a step between a living room and a kitchen. So, then I will go out and visit it and say ‘well, no, that's not going to work’. If that piece of material information had been presented at the beginning, it could have saved that time and hassle. It’s something that is often an issue.”
Perception of accessibility
It isn’t just about property professionals though. Adrian Tagg MRICS, associate professor in the School of Construction Management at the University of Reading, says that there is a perception gap in the wider population between how disabled and non-disabled people see the world. “Accessibility has dropped off the edge in terms of importance,” he says.
“That’s what my own research is looking at. I think about the 2012 Paralympics in London, the greatest show on earth, and the legacy that didn't really happen. And the perception gap is widening. If you're disabled, three-quarters of people think [the built environment] is not accessible, compared to half of people who are non-disabled.”
So, what needs to change? For Tagg, it is partly about education. “I do a whole module on inclusive environments at Reading,” he says. “It comes down to the term ‘experiential understanding’. Only if you are disabled or you're caring for someone with a disability do you really know how difficult it is to get access. Experiential understanding is key to understanding what access is about.”
But Tagg also urges surveyors to think about accessibility in commercial terms. “We professionals in the sector – service providers – have to rely on guidance and regulation to get things done,” he says. “But actually, the easiest way to do it is to realise that it's a commercial win. If I can provide access to my property, it's going to generate more business. Once you realise that, it's a no brainer.”
