Written submission from Around the Toilet Project (DBE0087)
Around the Toilet (aroundthetoilet.wordpress.com) is an interdisciplinary, collaborative research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which explores what makes a safe and accessible toilet. Since April 2015, we have worked with various groups, including disabled people (with various visible and invisible impairments), trans people, queer and LGB people, parents, children, lorry drivers, people of faith, and cleaners, to holistically consider toilets and accessibility. Below we have responded to questions posed through the consultation, particularly in regards to toilet accessibility.
We have created an interactive toolkit offering design problems and solutions to toilet accessibility based on our research, and aimed at policy makers, as well as planners and design professionals at www.toilettoolkit.co.uk.
● How well do Part M of the Building Regulations and Approved Document M perform in providing reasonable levels of accessibility in the built environment and what could be done to improve performance?
Work done by Masters architecture students for Around the Toilet highlighted some of the problems with Part M in relation to toilet accessibility. Most points are touched on in the remainder of this document, but the full analysis can be read here.
● Do current standards regarding accessibility in the built environment take account of the full range of disability and impairment needs? (For example, are the needs of people with dementia, the visually impaired, those with mental health issues and older people given sufficient consideration? If not, what more could be done to increase inclusivity?)
No. Some examples of pitfalls:
Accessible toilets not ‘accessible enough’
Our research has shown that disabled toilets often aren’t accessible enough. This may be because:
● There isn’t room for a large electric wheelchair and a personal assistant/carer
● The accessible toilet is being used as a storage cupboard
● There isn’t a hoist and adult sized changing bed (see Changing Places campaign)
● The toilet is a long distance from, for example, accessible parking meaning those with mobility impairments that can’t travel long distances can’t reach it
Disabled parents
All parents spoke of the difficulties in finding a suitable toilet when with babies and children. The importance of gender free spaces so people of all genders can care for their children (and others) was reiterated. Disabled parents, however, had particular problems. One disabled parent spoke of the importance of having private, accessible spaces to change babies - including height adjustable changing tables and plenty of space for a wheelchair user and a personal assistant/carer to be in the room.
Radar keys & older people
Although some people knew about and valued the radar key schemes, others felt that the schemes were exclusive and didn’t acknowledge the range of reasons that people may need to use the private, gender neutral and accessible space. Participants shared worries that older people who may have become disabled in later life were particularly unaware of radar keys (and therefore just thought that the accessible toilet was locked).
Importance of hygiene and shelving
Everybody wants a clean and hygienic space to use the toilet. However, this is particularly important for those using and changing colostomy bags, who need large spaces wit clean services (such as shelves) to place items whilst emptying the bag. Shelves should be at varying heights to be used by wheelchair users as well as people standing.
Design and management of the public realm
● Are the needs of all groups given adequate consideration in the design of streets, highways, parks and publicly accessible open spaces and in the provision of services such as public toilets?
Participants in Around the Toilet, including disabled people and trans people, have spoken of not leaving the house and not drinking all day due to a lack of public toilet spaces that meet their needs. Others talked about planning journeys based on the location of an accessible toilet.
Research has shown that older people rely on public toilets, and don’t leave the house when these aren’t available. Sometimes the only public toilet in an area is in a public library. There is a trend here in the demise of public services and a lack of access to community.
Although some people in Around the Toilet spoke of using toilets in cafes and pubs, others were not confident or able to do this for various reasons. A Muslim disabled woman, for example, said that her faith prevented her from entering places where alcohol was for sale, and her impairment meant that many toilets and places were inaccessible anyway. Others talked of being put off by signs warning non-customers to not use the toilet.
There was generally a scepticism around Community Toilet schemes; questions were raised about accessibility of venues, and the toilets only being available in venue opening hours (meaning that outside of working hours, pubs and bars become the only option).
A lack of open toilets was generally a problem after working hours and at night (clashing with talk of ‘24 hour cities’).
● What opportunities are there for delivering greater accessibility and inclusivity alongside more age-friendly towns and cities, including liaison with the NHS?
Although Around the Toilet hasn’t specifically engaged in research within the NHS, participants have spoken of NHS toilets rarely having accessible toilets meeting the needs of those that require hoists and an adult changing bed.
The role of designers, architects and built environment specialists in ensuring accessibility and inclusivity
● To what extent is the need for accessibility taken into account in the design of buildings and public spaces? What can the professionals who are responsible for the creation, maintenance and retrofitting of our built environment do to ensure that buildings and public spaces are as accessible and inclusive as possible?
Ensuring that adequate and accessible public toilets are available allows people to leave their homes and into public space. The Toilet Toolkit (www.toilettoolkit.com) has many suggestions as to how to make toilets more accessible, including:
● How well is inclusive design built into training for built environment specialists such as planners, designers, architects and building inspectors? Is there sufficient continuing professional development on inclusive design for such specialists? What tools and techniques are needed to infuse inclusive design into education and training programmes?
Around the Toilet has worked with both student and practicing designers and architects. Although students have received training around accessibility, this has often been at a very basic standard, looking only at bottom line policy, and not taking into account the holistic and varying reasons that access is needed, and ways that it can be facilitated. Practicing architects have echoed a similar lack of certainty about issues of access, beyond basic guidelines.
October 2016