In a few years' time, churches could be faced with fines and compelled to make alterations to premises not accessible to disabled persons.
Part III of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act already requires 'service providers' with publicly accessible premises, including churches, to provide information and assistance for disabled persons by the end of 1998. Under guidelines agreed by the last government, auxiliary aids and services will need to be provided by mid 1999 and structural alterations by 2005. With the proposal to form a Disability Commission, there is pressure to bring this date forward.
The DDA includes a wide-ranging definition of disability. In addition to wheelchair users, it covers all with 'physical or mental impairments which have a substantial and long term (i.e. 12 months or more) adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day to day activities'. It includes those with poor manual co-ordination or little strength, for example, who are unable to turn knobs, those with sensory impairments, such as impaired sight or hearing, and those who lack memory, concentration or understanding. Many more people can experience these effects temporarily, such as moths in the later stages of pregnancy, children and those with injuries, and so on. The parallels with lists in Scripture, such as those in Matthew 11.5 and Isaiah 35.3-6, will not be lost on Christians.
More attractive
Access for everyone to chapels and churches is both desirable and an intrinsic part of the witness of a local church, though this was not always appreciated by those who built them originally. Paying attention to access could make church attendance more attractive to as much as 40% of the population, the estimated proportion of the population included in the above definitions.
Many churches already have large print hymnbooks and induction loops, but even church premises built or altered in the last 10 years or so, which have the access ramps and toilets defined in Part M of the Building Regulations (Part T in Scotland) may require further improvements. Fellowships may be faced with some hard choices. Church buildings which are listed or in conservation areas will need special sensitivity in undertaking alterations.
An access audit
The first step is to carry out an access audit of the whole building. Local authority access officers, professional access consultants or disability organisations may assist and some may also offer grants. Locals with a range of disabilities can be invited to participate and contribute to the findings. Churches can also host disability-awareness training sessions run by various support groups to help members appreciate the attitudes and problems of disabled users.
For many churches the entrance steps and lack of wheelchair-accessible toilets may seem to be the only problems, but circulation within the building and escape from it should also be considered. Signs, lighting and sound systems and even decorative schemes should be considered. There may be other problems which should be identified from the start to ensure that effort is not wasted on what is obvious, only to find that wheelchair users cannot, for example, negotiate a pair of swing doors, reach a serving hatch or cope with the sloping floor in the worship area. The aim should always be to achieve independent access for an average disabled person, without assistance.
After an access audit has been carried out, decisions need to be taken either to remove obstructions, to alter them, avoid them, or provide reasonable alternative provisions. Special care is needed to ensure that the character of historic chapels is not spoiled. The DDA recognises historic buildings as special cases, where a measure of compromise may be necessary. Where alterations to a listed chapel are being contemplated, it is usual to employ an architect with experience of historic buildings.
It is important that the access solutions adopted neither marginalise nor overstate disabled persons' needs. For example, where possible, access and facilities should be as close as possible to those provided for everyone else, so that the dignity of disabled persons is maintained. The main entrance should be adapted in preference to a side or rear entrance. It is also important that the access point is available to all, not exclusive to disabled users. New wheelchair access toilets should, if possible, be sited in proximity to standard toilets.
Expense?
Although works to provide ramps and widen doorways and passages to ease access are zero-rated for VAT, they can be expensive. Moveable ramps may be a temporary expedient but are unlikely to be satisfactory in the long term. Steps will always be needed as well, since they can be easier for some ambulant disabled people. Surface finishes and lighting provisions on ramps and steps are important. Slip-resistant hard surfaces such as brick or stone paving tend to be more suitable than gravel or cobbles. Rubber doormats are more suitable than coir, while shallow dense pile carpets are easier for wheelchair users to negotiate than deep-pile carpets.
The proximity of disabled drivers' parking bays and setting-down points should be taken into account and clear signposting provided to the alternative entrance. As a last resort, stair or platform lifts can occasionally be used. The need for suitable emergency escape provisions for wheelchair users should be borne in mind and the Fire Officer consulted.
No discrimination
Making room for everyone in our meetings without discrimination is a scriptural imperative(1), and space in the worship area should always be available for wheelchair users, including some spaces at the front where it is easiest to see and hear. This may benefit others too, such as families with young children in pushchairs. If possible, a separate room with a soundproof window into the worship area should be provided so that parents with crying babies are not excluded. A wheelchair-accessible toilet can offer the opportunity to provide babies' nappy-changing facilities which are fast becoming available in other public venues.
The DDA is no exception to the trend of much new legislation to consolidate our transition to a rights-based society, rather than a duty-based one constructed on spiritual truths. However, this is one law that churches can view positively.
The New Testament includes a description of how four helpers went to extraordinary lengths to gain access to Jesus for a paralysed friend, leading to the forgiveness of his sins(2). We should be prepared to follow their example.
Robin Kent is an architect specialising in historic building and church work. This note is not a comprehensive guide to specification and each church building will need separate consideration. Consents may be required for works.
Notes
DDA Helpline for free information about the Act: 0345 622631.
The Methodist church's publication Repair and Renewal contains useful advice on disability access provisions. A number of firms and organisations provide specialised equipment and advice. Advice on access provisions to historic church buildings can be found in Easy Access to Historic Properties (English Heritage, 1995), Access to the Built Heritage (Historic Scotland, 1996.
1. James 2.2-4
2. Luke 5.17-26
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