It is estimated that there are around 11 million disabled people living in the UK. Whilst great strides have been made to improve disabled access to the shops, public services and leisure facilities in our towns and cities, there remains a lot more that could be done. In a recent blog we looked at the accessibility of music venues; though access to sporting venues has proven to be an equal challenge.
A BBC Inside Out Programme last month found a significant number of Football League clubs are failing to meet disabled guidelines. The show found that across the UK more than a third of clubs failed met the minimum standards for wheelchair spectators, with some having more than 120 fewer seats than suggested.
Those guidelines are set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide – a list of non-compulsory criteria set out by the Government. The criteria covers all newly-constructed stadia, with existing grounds expected to make “reasonable adjustments” to ensure that no one is stopped from accessing their services.
In response to BBC Inside Out’s findings, the Football League said:
“Instead of spending resources on extra capacity for which there may be no demand, our focus is to improve the match-day experience for those disabled supporters that do attend. 87% of league clubs in England now employ dedicated staff to assist disabled fans, 86% of clubs ensure that away disabled supporters sit with their fellow away fans and 97% of clubs provide accessible parking or drop of points for disabled fans”
Whilst clubs are looking to increase the number of seats made available at grounds for disabled fans, the problems really begins long before fans get in view of the pitch. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (‘The DDA) lays out requirements that where a physical feature, such as entrance doors, make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to access services, the service provider must:
- Remove the feature
- Reduce its impact
- Provide a means of avoiding it
- Provide an alternative means of accessing the service
Providing Access for All
Whether you are a football club or a retailer, a service user’s experience begins at the front door. If you’re looking to create an accessible entrance for your customers, we recommend our low energy doors. Designed to open for longer, low energy doors provide safe entry for both able bodied and disabled visitors; as well as those who may require more time, such as the elderly. These doors can be provided with a choice of activation options, including:
- Remote fobs
- Touchless pads
- Proximity access
- Touch sensitive handles
With doors available for both new builds and retrospective installations, they offer a cost effective method of creating barrier-free access to your premises.
If you would like more information about our low energy doors, do not hesitate to get in touch and speak to us. You can call us on 0845 226 2823 or drop us an email to hello@rds-doors.com.