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Introduction

About the Code of Practice

Welcome to the Code of Practice on Access and Mobility brought together originally by the five Merseyside District Councils and Merseytravel. This new web based version is brought to you in conjunction with SURFACE at The University of Salford. It is hoped that other Local Authorities and District Councils will want to join in the development of the Code of Practice on Access and Mobility and want to use it to promote best practice on transport and access issues.

This is an advisory document reflecting current statutory and current best practice requirements. It offers guidance on best practice in designing environments not only to meet the needs of disabled people but also of those who may otherwise be restricted by the design of buildings, structures, highways or transportation. Statutory regulations governing the accessibility of the built environment are also provided within the appendices.

The experience which unites disabled people is not a shared physical experience, but a shared social experience of an environment which has often been designed with barriers that prevent their full participation. The design of houses, workplaces, streets and roads, public buildings and leisure facilities, public and private transport has rarely considered the needs of disabled people and this in turn leads to limited access to educational, employment, cultural, community and social activities.

Architects, builders, designers, highway engineers, planners and policy makers need to be aware of the practical limitations that result from disability, and to find out what measures are required to accommodate everyone's needs within the built environment.

The Merseyside Local Authorities will expect developers to take account of the Code's recommendations when preparing schemes which need statutory approval under regulations such as planning, building control etc. It is hoped that other Local Authorities may want to use a similar approach to achieve best practice.

Those of us involved, at Local Council and Passenger Transport Authority levels, see the Code as one of our most positive activities, one which promotes a good environment and protects the interests of local people in how land and transport are used.

Working out how to make changes - and overcoming the sometimes self imposed barriers to change - is a serious matter to address in today's society. We commend this Code of Practice to you in the knowledge that you will find it to be a practical source of useful information in tackling those issue

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Introduction

Contents

About the Code of Practice