Agenda item

The Director of Estates and Building Services submits a report summarising key findings of Accessibility Audits carried out in May 2020 for City Hall and Town Hall. 

The Commission is recommended to:

a)     note and comment on the contents of this report;

b)     ask Estates and Building Services to commission further accessibility audits of Council sites and develop a planned approach to support this with its in house team in the future;

c)     ask Estates and Building Services to share the findings of Appendices A and B to this report with the Disabled Workers Group for comment and assign a member of its Facilities Management team to be part of this group; and

d)     ask Estates and Building Services to seek to include the priority works at City Hall into the next appropriate capital programme for commencement as soon as possible.

The Director of Estates and Buildings submitted a report summarising key findings of Accessibility Audits carried out in May 2020 for City Hall and the Town Hall.

The City Mayor introduced the report, reminding Members that, although these were flagship buildings, they were not the only Council buildings with public access.  Access at both City Hall and the Town Hall needed to be improved, but it was important to ensure that the right work was being done.  Comments from the Scrutiny Commission on the proposals therefore would be welcome.

The Head of Operations and Facilities Management noted that when City Hall was refurbished, it had been done so as to be as compliant as reasonably possible with The Building Regulations Approved Document Part M 2006.  Over time it had become apparent that this was insufficient, as set out in the report, resulting in the recommendation that various works be undertaken to improve accessibility.  Details of these also were set out in the report.

As an employer, the Council was required to make reasonable adjustments to improve accessibility, as far as possible.  The recommendations in the report in relation to the Town Hall therefore reflected its age and listed status.  Consideration was being given to how these works could be done in parallel with clearing the backlog of maintenance work, but replacement of the platform lift to the Council Chamber would be progressed now, with the work being done in November 2020.

The Head of Operations and Facilities Management advised that it was proposed to consult the Council’s Disabled Workers Group on the suitability of the proposed works.

At the invitation of the Chair, Maureen Peberdy, representing Labour Disability, provided feedback on the report, making the following points:

“I welcome the opportunity to talk to you today and the proactiveness of the Council and the Mayor to undertake this audit of the 2 main Council buildings in the City, the Town Hall and City Hall. Both buildings are currently unsuitable for disabled people.

I also appreciate his willingness to engage with disabled individuals and groups and thank him for the time he has taken to talk to me personally.

I have expressed my concerns about the ethos under which the audit has been undertaken. Oakland Group are not specialists in disability and the audit seems to have been undertaken not with disabled people in mind, but with the bare minimum to comply with the legal requirement required and cost influencing the recommendations.

Most of the recommendations are only “considered REASONABLY appropriate under the Act” and to quote from Oaklands Audit report they have undertaken a “snap shot” view – not a long-term view which is needed.

Their recommendation that remote IT access via an intranet would provide an acceptable solution if it allows access to a service without the need to physically alter the premises is both discriminatory, offensive and not in the spirit of the Act.

They state that the Act requires physical barriers should be removed but the Act requires much more than that.

The Audit states their recommendations are “suggestions and do not guarantee compliance with the Act”.  This should raise a red flag that this audit is unacceptable.

If this is going to be done properly it needs to be done under best practice, which may cost more but will be more fruitful and ensure the buildings are disabled accessible for the future.

Many of the points to consider say N/A, not applicable. But they are. Access is not just about physical barriers it is about lighting, seating, flooring to name just a few things. I was very disappointed in particular regarding the lack of lighting recommendations. The lighting in both buildings is very poor for those who are partially sighted or who have neurodiversity issues.  All are crucial to get right.  Its not good enough to have a handrail; that handrail has to be at the right height, pointing in a specific way at the end of it identifying the path of the next landing, it may even require 2 handrails at different heights.  Steps must be clearly demarked, carpets and the colour of chairing needs to be based on the differential to the flooring, not to complement it.

There are mentions of signage issues, but this has to be specific both in presentation and place. There is no detail in the report.

I do not want to go into all of the specifics that I disagree with other than to comment on the lift in City Hall and the Town Hall.

The lift in City Hall down to the meeting rooms - The recommendations are that the lift to the main meeting rooms does break down a lot but it is acceptable. WRONG!

I am pleased to see that the Council have taken on board funding to replace that lift which is very welcome. However, what should have been stated in the audit report is why the lift keeps breaking down.  It breaks down because it has a totally unacceptable weight limit for modern day heavy electrical wheelchairs.  Many are in excess of 150kg, if you then factor in oxygen bottles etc., a 240 kg lift is clearly unacceptable. This has to be investigated further before just replacing any lifts.

That takes me onto the Town Hall.  The platform lift to the main Council rooms is unsafe and dangerous. There have been accidents.  With the same caveat as before, this does need replacing as a matter of urgency.

The report was long, but I could not find mention of the Viewing Gallery. I believe this is inaccessible and I would welcome comment on that.

Throughout the report there is mention of a Fire Audit. The escape plan notes that many things are not in place re disability escape routes and I urge this is also undertaken as a matter of urgency.  I would strongly recommend NO Meetings at all take place in the Town Hall until this has been rectified, it is dangerous.

Before Covid I had met with Caroline Jackson [Head of Revenues & Customer Support] and officers at the Granby Street Customer Service Centre.  They had done some great work with local disability groups and the RNIB and were making some significant changes both in obvious physical barriers and not so obvious ones, like demarcation of floor colours.

I do not apologize for concentrating on the negative points of this audit, there are positive points but it is important we get it right.  Overall, I am sorry to say I do not welcome the recommendations in this audit.

I know the Mayor and Officers are speaking to staff and I welcome that and suggest they also liaise with Caroline Jackson to share best practice.

I would also recommend Officers contact an Agency called Centre for Accessible Environments. They are specialists in Disability Environments, they can offer advice and support and along with their knowledge, the input of local groups and individuals I am confident the Council will have buildings that are accessible to all.”

Members welcomed the commitment to making the buildings accessible to everyone and the work being undertaken to achieve this.  However, there was some disappointment that this work needed doing and Members asked for further clarification of the issue raised by Ms Peberdy about the fire certificate.

In reply, the Head of Operations and Facilities Management confirmed that, in common with all of the Council’s buildings, the Town Hall had a compliant fire safety risk assessment.  This included arrangements for people management through independent access and egress.  Processes for emergency situations were tested regularly.  In addition, although the previous fire alarm system had been compliant, the new one installed had improved compliance.

The Service Manager - Accommodation and Workplace confirmed that all systems had reliance on human intervention for safe evacuation.  No safe areas existed in the Town Hall, so people unable to evacuate via the staircase currently had to wait in refuge areas for manual evacuation.  It was recognised that this created issues for personal dignity.

It was recognised that the Town Hall was a historic building and that ways in which it could be used in the future were being considered.  It therefore was suggested that the proposals for its future use be scrutinised by this Commission, as its future use would influence the work to be done in the Town Hall to make it accessible.

The Commission welcomed the proposal to bring the skills needed for this sort of audit to be brought in-house and suggested that this could be enhanced through liaison with bodies such as the Centre for Accessible Environments.

The City Mayor thanked Members for their comments and expressed his determination that this work would proceed very quickly.

AGREED:

1)    That the Director of Estates and Buildings be asked to take the comments recorded above in to account in progressing work to improve accessibility to City Hall and the Town Hall;

2)    That it be noted that Estates and Building Services will commission further accessibility audits of Council sites and the proposal to develop a planned approach to support this requirement with its in house team in the future be welcomed, it being suggested that this be enhanced through liaison with bodies such as the Centre for Accessible Environments;

3)    That the proposals that Estates and Building Services share the findings of Appendix A and Appendix B to this report with the Disabled Workers Group for comment and assign a member of its Facilities Management team to be part of this group be welcomed;

4)    That the proposal that Estates and Management Services seek to include the priority works at City Hall in to the next appropriate capital programme for commencement as soon as possible be welcomed; and

5)    That the Director of Estates and Buildings be asked to bring proposals for the future use of the Town Hall to this Commission at an appropriate time, to enable scrutiny to be undertaken of the ways in which these would influence the work to be done in the Town Hall to make it accessible.