Disabled Access Planning Statement

Proposed Apartments at 11 \& 12 Peel Road Douglas <br> Modena Developments Ltd <br> Planning Statement - Access for Disabled

This building has been designed to provide access for the ambulant disabled as required in Part M of the Building Regulations 1999 edition.

Under these regulations there is no requirement to provide access for wheelchair bound persons or to provide a lift in a building of this floor area.

The Disability Office appointed by the Planning Department would encourage the provision of a ramped access to the ground floor. This office would always strive to provide a ramped access to a building whether it was or not required under the Building Regulations.

In Pre-Submission meetings with the Planning Officer it was advised that the floor \& window levels of the building be similar to those on the adjoining building at no. 13 Peel Road. To achieve these similarities the ground floor level of the proposed building is set well above the street level on Peel Road and some 1.1 meters above the ground level to the rear.

To achieve full wheelchair access, a ramp of 16.5 m would be required to the rear of the building. Such a ramp would extend from the rear door of the proposed building and would, if taken straight out to the rear boundary, would finish in the middle of the rear lane. This of course is totally impracticable and would make parking provision to the rear impossible.

To conclude, providing wheelchair access to the ground floor as would be preferred by the Planning Disability Officer is not feasible. We have made all reasonable efforts to make the whole of the building accessible for the ambulant disabled including the provision of a lift. We trust the Planning Disability Officer and the Committee recognise the difficulties imposed by the site and accept that full access to the whole building is more beneficial than access only to the ground floor by wheelchair bound persons.