The proprietors of publicly accessible businesses have to make sure that disabled people can access the goods, services and facilities they offer to the public. To do this, you may have to make reasonable changes to your service and methods of service delivery to enable disabled people to access the service.
On the 1 October 2004 the law will change such that service providers may have to make additional reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises to overcome any physical barriers to access.
From October 2004, where a 'physical feature' makes it impossible and/or unreasonably difficult for disabled customers to make use of a service offered to the public, service providers will have to take measures, where reasonable, to;
- remove the feature
- alter it so that it no longer has that effect, or
- provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature, or
- provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service available to disabled people
Several factors will determine whether a change is a reasonable one for service providers to undertake, particularly for physical adjustments to premises. These may include;
- whether taking any particular measures would be effective in overcoming the difficulty that disabled people face in accessing the services in question
- the extent to which it is practicable for the service provider to take the (required) measures
- the financial and other associated costs of making the adjustment
- the extent of any disruption which taking the measures would cause
- the amount of any resources already being spent on making adjustments
- the availability of financial or other assistance
- the presence of action plan derived form an access audit
With the above in mind, it is quite clear that both pragmatic and cost effective solutions will be necessary to evaluate and subsequently implement any suitable proposal(s), which may include the use of auxiliary aids and services, where this would enable or facilitate a disabled person's use of a service.
This subjective approach will no doubt fuel the often complex and sensitive arguments between obligation and cost. The (DDA) is not prescriptive and relies extensively on a 'test of reasonableness'.
Client / Market Sectors;
Accesable Advice offers their portfolio of real estate and construction cost consultancy services to Employers, Landlords and Service Providers, active in any of the following areas:
- Commercial Offices
- Education
- Health, Welfare & Cultural
- Hotels & Leisure
- Housing (Private, Public and Non-profit)
- Retail Parks
- Shopping Centres
- Transport Utilities
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