accessibility Opening doors to accessibility Phillip Jones of P C Henderson reveals how choosing the right door can improve accessibility.
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staggering 97 per cent of councils in England do not have plans to address the country’s growing lack of accessible homes, an issue already affecting nearly two million people. This revelation
surfaced after housing association Habinteg published a report last year outlining that just three per cent of local authorities outside of London had put plans in place to deliver and measure the number of homes being built to the needs of people with varying abilities. Statistics have shown that one in five disabled people believed their
accommodation was not suitable as their home required adaptation. Research by national charity Aspire determined that fewer wheelchair accessible homes were built in 2013 than in 2005, with 24,000 wheelchair users in England waiting for appropriate social or affordable housing. Currently, only seven per cent of existing social homes provide the four minimum access features that allow a disabled person to comfortably visit,
“The Lifetime Homes standard considers the spatial needs in a property in order to provide basic and essential accessibility”
stay the night or live on a longer-term basis. As the Government and local authorities (LAs) continue to tackle the social housing crisis, those responsible for building new or refurbishing existing social homes must make sure that properties are accessible – or at least easily adaptable – in order to provide families and vulnerable households with a suitable, long-term living solution.
Promoting mobility
The demand for accessible and easily adaptable social homes is set to increase further as the UK population ages. Habinteg research uncovered that 50 per cent of people living in social housing would favour staying in their current home with some adaptations in order to live independently should they require care or support at some point later in their lives. In order to address the shortage of accessible social homes, LAs must
ensure all new social housing is built to minimum standards equivalent to Lifetime Homes or Building Regulations Part M (4) Category 2 as standard, to promote mobility and enhance user well-being. If social housing providers build new dwellings and adapt existing stock to these standards, households can have more choice as to where they live and settle down, maintaining independence.
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM January 2017 | 31
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