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Reference is made throughout this section to Part M of the Building Regulations. The accompanying document, Approved Document M, sets out the minimum level of access provision that should be made within and around buildings. However, this section also discusses provisions that go beyond this minimum, helping to make buildings more user-friendly and welcoming to all. For more general information about the Building Regulations, and when they apply, visit the Building Control section.

Important note: the design guidance in this section is simply an introduction to the issues involved. Detailed design guidance is available from the following sources:
  • for minimum regulations on building accessibility – refer to Approved Document M, which can be downloaded from the Planning Portal website
  • for detailed best practice guidance on building accessibility – refer to any of the resources in the Guidance section

The British Standard Institution’s publication BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people is one of the key documents for best practice guidance on the design of buildings. It sets out good practice principles that often go beyond the basic guidance within Approved Document M.

The diagrams used throughout this section are taken from Designing for Accessibility, a publication by the Centre for Accessible Environments, much of which is based on the detail contained within BS 8300.