Disability Access Cert

[DASL]

Not really a planning issue but:
The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009 have been introduced with a new Disability Access Certificate requirement coming in to effect on 1st Jan 2010.

Does the fee of €800 apply to a building irrelative to the number of units it may contain?.

In a residential housing development, is it per €800 per detached house and the same for
a pair of semi’s as they are just one building, or will one Disability Access Cert cover the entire development?.

Any advice or comments gladly welcome.

[henno]

i am under the impression that it is for new non-domestic builds. I need to find the relevant text.

[parka]

DAC's are very unclear and there is very little information on what is actually required. I far as I can see they don't differentiate between building types.

[DASL]

Thank you for the replies,

Link below to the amended regs if you fancy some light reading!.

http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation...d,21091,en.pdf

Application form appears straight forward enough, but seems they can invalidate or request revised plans/info etc. Can’t find anything on time limits etc.

Must agree, can’t find any info or guidance either apart from the regs.

Anything one of the opinion that this is just another revenue collecting exercise.

[henno]

Confirmed by DOE by phone that these are regulations which are amendments and 'add-ons' to the original building control regulations. In the original regulations there is a differentiation between domestic and non-domestic builds, so the DAC will be required for buildings which would also require FSC according to the same regulations. Obviously, apartment blocks require the certificate. the certificate is given to the whole building and not just the individual units.

As Part M itself isnt a hugely technical document, i would foresee applications for DACs to be much simpler than FSC applications. I would also like to note that for best possible design for persons with disabilities designers should refer to the Irish Wheelchair Associations "Access Guidelines" document.

http://www.iwa.ie/Docs/IWA-Access-Gu...-Edition-1.pdf

[parka]

Originally Posted by DASL

Application form appears straight forward enough, but seems they can invalidate or request revised plans/info etc. Can’t find anything on time limits etc.

The application form says nothing about what they actually require.

One instance that comes to mind is how will you describe the use of tonal contrast within a building.
Also, what about upgrade works to an existing building, will there be a requirement to introduce lifts etc.

[parka]

Originally Posted by henno

As Part M itself isnt a hugely technical document, i would foresee applications for DACs to be much simpler than FSC applications. I would also like to note that for best possible design for persons with disabilities designers should refer to the Irish Wheelchair Associations "Access Guidelines" document.

http://www.iwa.ie/Docs/IWA-Access-Gu...-Edition-1.pdf

I would of thought that BS8300 would be more effective. The IWA book is just guidelines.

[henno]

Originally Posted by parka

I would of thought that BS8300 would be more effective. The IWA book is just guidelines.

The IWA document has looked to BS83000 in many areas, but has gone above and beyond some of its minimum requirements to provide a 'best practise' document. It actually also references BS83000 2009.

see page 123 for its references and FI

12 References and Further Information

 Building for Everyone, National Disability Authority (2002).
 A Review of the Effectiveness of Part M of the Building Regulations, National Disability
Authority (2005).
 Building Regulations (2000), Technical Guidance Documents Part M, Department of
Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
 Proposed Amendments to Technical Guidance Document, Part M, to give Universal
Access to the Built Environment (August 2006), Irish Wheelchair Association.
 Access to and use of buildings, UK Part M Regulations, Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister.
 Building Lifetime Homes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
 Towards and Access Standard for Housing within the Building Code of Australia (April
2003), Australian Network for Universal Housing Design, discussion paper.
 Wheelchair Accessible Housing – Best Practice Guidance, Mayer of London, Greater
London Authority (September 2007).
 Wheelchair Homes Design Guidelines, South East London Housing Partnership and
London Borough of Greenwich, (2006).
 Building Regulations (2006), Technical Guidance Document B – Fire Safety, Department
of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
 Promoting Safe Egress and Evacuation for People with Disabilities, National Disability
Authority.
 Designing for Accessibility, The Centre for Accessible Environments & Riba Enterprises
(2004).
 International Best Practices in Universal Design, A Global Review, Canadian Human
Rights Commission, (March 2006).
 Design of Buildings and their Approaches to Meet the Needs of Disabled People, British
Standards 8300:2001 and BS8300:2009.
 Good Loo Design, The Centre for Accessible Environments, (2004).
 Removing Barriers to Health Care, A Guide for Health Professionals, The Center for
Universal Design and the North Carolina Office on Disability and Health.
 Architectural Heritage Protection, Guidelines for Planning Authorities, Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
 Disability Access Provisions for Historic Buildings, Article by Robert Kent.
 Code of Practice, US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights
Section.
 Changing Places, Changing Places Consortium.
 Accessible Stadia – Sports Ground and Stadia Guide, The Football Stadia Improvement
Fund and the Football Licensing Authority.
123
Irish Wheelchair Association Access Guidelines
 The Green Guide – The Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds, (1997), The Football
Licensing Authority.
 IT Accessibility Guidelines, National Disability Authority.
 Access Handbook Template, (2005), National Disability Authority.
 Road and Street Design for All, (Draft Document), Kildare County Council.
 Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, Americans with Disabilities, Revised
Act 2002.
 Building Construction – Accessibility and Usability of the Built Environment, ISO
Committee Draft Document, (ISO/TC 59/SC 16N N60).
 Access for Disabled People, Sport England Design and Guidance Notes.
 Disability Act 2005 Draft Implementation Plan, Fingal County Council.
 Manual of Best Practice – A Guide to Including Disabled Children in Childcare and Play
Settings, Disability Equality Specialist Support Agency (DESSA).
 Accessibility Guidelines for Playgrounds, American with Disability Act 2002.



It is a highly commendable document in my opinion, and i feel the new revised Part M will draw on many of its aspect for regulatory purposes.

[missarchi]

I admired the Irish reg's now they are reaching biblic proportions...

[henno]

Originally Posted by missarchi

I admired the Irish reg's now they are reaching biblic proportions...

would you prefer a system with less regulatory standards?

[parka]

I find it worrying that people can't even comply with the current Part M.

The new Part M, while a step forward, is still out of date

[onq]

Originally Posted by henno

would you prefer a system with less regulatory standards?

Fewer standards does not imply lesser standards.
This current fiasco with DAC's is like giving the police more laws to work under when they don't even apply the existing gamut of legislation available to them.

This step is necessary because of the utterly ludicrous situation engendered by the self-certification regime we work under and a lack of independent oversight ensuring the regulations were complied with.

Independent assessment by pro-active Building Control Officers even up to the standards of the original Part M would have redressed the balance but the current mandatory inspection rate minimum of 12% is a joke.

So here we are with even more onerous legislation because people didn't apply Part M.

ONQ.

[Wild Bill]

I don't think we should kid ourselves that this has been brought in because people were not complying with Part M. I think the €800 fee adequately demonstrates the reason for the introduction of this particular piece of legislation, utter greed on the part of a cash hungry Prader Willi Syndrome government.