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6 PLANNING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
6.1 This focus area covers the built environment in so far as it is influenced by local authorities. This includes the management of their own building stock, and the regulation of new buildings through their planning and building control functions. It excludes the accessibility of historic buildings.
Background: wider policy context and evidence
Wider policy context
6.2 Under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 all organisations which provide a service to the public (including public, private and third sector organisations) have been required to make reasonable adjustments to physical features which prevent disabled people gaining access to their services since October 2004.
6.3 The UK Government gave notice of its intention to implement the 'physical features' provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1997, giving service providers seven years in which to make the necessary changes.
6.4 In addition to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act the Building Regulations require new buildings to address a range of issues intended to ensure that buildings are inclusive and accessible to disabled people. These regulations were most recently updated in May 2007 and include provisions for housing.
6.5 In addition to the Building Regulations the then Scottish Executive published Planning Advice Note 78 ( PAN78) on Inclusive Design (Scottish Executive 2006g) which is intended to help planners and designers give wider consideration to the access needs of disabled people.
6.6 The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 provides Ministers with enabling powers to require either or both design and access statements to accompany specified planning applications. The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the introduction of these powers in January 2008. In addition, the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced a requirement that in undertaking their functions under the Act, planning authorities and Ministers must perform their functions in a manner which encourages equal opportunities and in particular the observance of the equal opportunities requirements.
Research and statistical evidence
6.7 Due to the fact that disabled people are not a heterogeneous group, it has never been possible to develop a simple concept of accessibility against which to measure the quality of a building. Most commonly, accessibility is defined in terms of the needs of wheelchair users, focusing on ramped entrances, wide doors and accessible toilets. However, to make a building accessible to visually impaired people, attention need to be paid to issues such as lighting, colour contrast, and the marking of glass doors and panels. Someone who is deaf will at least expect an induction loop in reception areas and in meeting rooms, and users of British Sign Language also benefit from good lighting. People with learning disabilities require clear and easy to understand signage. Some, but not all, of these issues are addressed under building regulations, which focus on physical aspects of buildings and new building work.
6.8 When altering or adapting older buildings the level of accessibility possible may need to be a compromise between what can reasonably be achieved within the limitations of the built form and any conflicting requirements ( e.g. maintaining character). The result may be a building which cannot truly be described as accessible, though further improvements are usually possible through the management and operation of such buildings.
6.9 In spite of the difficulty in defining an accessible building, a key performance indicator for local authorities in Scotland is the percentage of accessible buildings from which a service is provided. All buildings have undergone an access audit, but Audit Scotland acknowledges that there will be some variation in the quality of the audit. This is because there is no requirement for external verification of the audit and for the reasons described in two preceding paragraphs there may be differing interpretation as to whether a building is 'accessible'. The latest information on the performance of local authorities in achieving this performance indicator is set out in Table 5 below.
Table 5: % of public buildings that are accessible to disabled people
Corporate Management | Percentage of public service buildings that are suitable and accessible to disabled people |
|---|
2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 |
|---|
Aberdeen City | 25.4% | 42.8% | 62.0% |
|---|
Aberdeenshire | 28.3% | 40.8% | 48.0% |
|---|
Angus | 72.9% | 76.2% | 79.0% |
|---|
Argyll & Bute | 60.2% | 72.3% | 76.5% |
|---|
Clackmannanshire | 70.3% | 70.3% | 70.3% |
|---|
Dumfries & Galloway | 1.5% | 9.3% | 34.1% |
|---|
Dundee City | 74.7% | 81.1% | 82.7% |
|---|
East Ayrshire | 26.6% | 40.6% | 45.9% |
|---|
East Dunbartonshire | 38.2% | 13.8% | 14.9% |
|---|
East Lothian | 54.2% | 63.5% | 64.9% |
|---|
East Renfrewshire | 56.0% | 64.5% | 73.9% |
|---|
Edinburgh, City of | 71.7% | 71.7% | 72.0% |
|---|
Eilean Siar | 5.0% | 5.0% | 34.0% |
|---|
Falkirk | 48.1% | 52.3% | 56.0% |
|---|
Fife | 7.4% | 7.4% | 18.2% |
|---|
Glasgow City | 13.9% | 23.0% | 26.9% |
|---|
Highland | 3.4% | 24.9% | 61.3% |
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Inverclyde | 7.6% | 25.0% | 35.4% |
|---|
Midlothian | 44.7% | 60.2% | 61.8% |
|---|
Moray | 11.1% | 67.2% | 80.3% |
|---|
North Ayrshire | 27.0% | 36.0% | 55.0% |
|---|
North Lanarkshire | 4.7% | 12.9% | 17.3% |
|---|
Orkney Islands | 34.9% | 41.9% | 48.1% |
|---|
Perth & Kinross | 51.1% | 55.2% | 56.7% |
|---|
Renfrewshire | 64.9% | 66.8% | 73.7% |
|---|
Scottish Borders | 75.2% | 85.4% | 82.9% |
|---|
Shetland Islands | 53.9% | 60.6% | 63.6% |
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South Ayrshire | 47.6% | 49.0% | 49.0% |
|---|
South L narkshire | 79.2% | 74.3% | 78.5% |
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Stirling | 71.3% | 70.2% | 72.3% |
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West Dunbartonshire | 20.8% | 28.6% | 33.7% |
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West Lothian | 21.7% | 30.4% | 35.8% |
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Scotland | 37.4% | 43.4% | 51.9% |
|---|
Source: Audit Scotland 2007b
6.10 These figures show a steady improvement in the proportion of accessible local authority buildings. However there are some wide variations between authorities, and even from one year to another within the same authority. These may relate to difficulty in defining what is considered accessible discussed in paragraph 6.7. Further discussion about access to local authority premises, including an expansion of Table 5, can be found later in this report in paragraphs 7.17-7.19 and in Table 6.
Reporting on progress towards equality of opportunity
6.11 While acknowledging the difficulties of auditing accessibility of the built environment discussed above, there is some evidence of an improving trend in general accessibility. It could be argued that even some of the complaints about access to buildings made by disabled people during the process of developing a disability equality scheme reflect rising expectations that buildings should be accessible to them in a way that would not have been the case ten years ago. A good example of these complaints can be found in the South Ayrshire scheme, which records complaints about problems accessing the new Ayr shopping centre development. Nevertheless, there is little evidence from schemes and annual reports that local authorities are using their powers to influence the design of new developments to ensure that this progress continues.
Areas where progress is evident
6.12 Progress was found to be evident in relation to:
- Access to local authority buildings
- Information about access to other buildings
- Improving disabled stakeholder involvement
Access to local authority buildings
6.13 Without exception, local authorities list access to their own buildings as a concern raised by disabled people that they propose to address in their disability equality scheme. These concerns are nearly always reflected in a statement of intent, or a formal target in the action plan to improve the accessibility of the local authority's building stock.
6.14 Only fourteen authorities include details of their performance against the Audit Commission key indicator in their disability equality scheme. A small number of authorities acknowledge the difficulty of accurately auditing their premises as discussed in paragraph 2.151 above. Local authorities which 'perform' well, such as Edinburgh, and those which appear to be 'less successful', acknowledge that there is scope for differing interpretations which can affect the overall outcome. West Dunbartonshire, which has the 28 th best performance, states that robust criteria are used to carry out the audit and this is reflected in their standing near the bottom of the performance table.
Information about access to other buildings
6.15 Some authorities recognise the importance to disabled people of knowing in advance whether premises will be accessible to them. Six authorities report that they have provided funds so that information about their area appears on the DisabledGo website ( www.disabledgo.info). DisabledGo is a website providing access information for disabled people. In total, seven Scottish local authority areas are covered on the site. In addition, two authorities, South Ayrshire and Moray, have contributed to the funding for the publication of their own Access Guide.
Improving disabled stakeholder involvement
6.16 The 2008 -2011 Scottish Government Scheme refers to the development of consultation mechanisms between the Directorate for the Built Environment and organisations representing disabled people. The Directorate is attempting to extend its contacts ' to ensure better, continuous, low-level stakeholder involvement in matters relating to the development of the built environment'. It also reports the involvement of a number of disability-led organisations in the British Standards Institution ( BSI) committees which focus on producing advisory documents and codes of practice with regard to access to the built environment.
Areas where progress is less evident
6.17 Progress is less evident in relation to:
Planning
6.18 Only Glasgow City Council stated clearly in its scheme that local authorities have an important role in promoting equality for disabled people by making buildings accessible. Some other authorities (notably, South Ayrshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire) make more general statements about an intention to influence accessibility of new developments. The majority of local authorities make no mention of planning in their disability equality scheme. However, given the size and complexity of local authority schemes, there is not always scope to include sufficient detail to allow a full assessment of progress towards equality of opportunity in planning and building control.
Building control
6.19 Glasgow City Council is the only local authority which states its intention of ensuring that its building control team enforces the Building Regulations. No other authority mentions this function in their scheme, although that does not mean that no other authority intends to do it.
Categories of impairment
6.20 The vast majority of local authorities include a statement on the definition of disability drawn from the Disability Discrimination Act, often followed by a statement of support for the social model of disability. However it is not always clear how this has influenced their thinking on matters relating to planning and the built environment.
6.21 Only two authorities (Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire) illustrate their discussion of the issue of accessibility by mentioning issues such as induction loops and lighting. Although some other authorities appear to have a wider understanding of access, it would be fair to say that the majority give the impression that they are focusing on ramps, door widths and accessible toilet provision.
Consultation and involvement
6.22 It would appear that in all cases where an access panel has been established, it is working with the local authority and its contribution is acknowledged. In some cases where there is no access panel, it would appear that another disability organisation covers some or all of these functions. However, only one authority, East Lothian, records the amount of funding it provides for its access panel (£5,000). North Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire state their intention to support the establishment of an access panel, and record in their annual report that these are now operating.
6.23 The Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee Report Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities (Scottish Parliament, 2006c) , noted the variation in work of access panels and the pressures under which they operate. Recommendations 144 to 147 called for better support and resourcing for panels.
Summary and conclusions
6.24 Overall, local authority disability equality schemes recognise the impact of barriers in the built environment on the lives of disabled people. Clearly the majority of local authorities are making efforts to improve access to their own premises. However there is little indication that they are giving consideration to how their planning and building control functions can be used to remove other barriers which face disabled people. This may reflect the size and complexity of local authority schemes, and does not necessarily mean that no consideration is being given to these issues.
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