The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 became law in December 1996.  It covers many areas from car parking, footpaths, steps, ramps, toilets and fire exits.  In this section, all areas of the Act will be discussed.

Car Parking
Disabled bays must be no more than 50 metres away from the building entrance or exit.
The bays must conform with the dimensions set out in the Act.

Access routes
Access routes to and from a building must comply (including widths between permanent obstacles) with the Act.

Doors
Entrances must be at least 800mm wide but ideally 950-1200mm.  Circulation space (i.e. area around service desks, aisles and landings) must be between 1200-1800mm.

Footpaths
Footpaths outside buildings must be kept level and in good order.  If the owner of the building doesn’t own the footpath, then they must inform the local authority (in writing) if it is not in a good condition.

Ramps
These should only be used if there is no possibility of level access.  They must not be built with a gradient over 1 in 20, and must be at least 1000mm wide.  The landings must be certain sizes, and the ramp must have a slip resistant surface.  Any ramps that are either permanent or semi-permanent will need planning permission from the local authority.  Where semi/permanent ramps are not allowed (lack of space, planning permission etc) portable ramps may be used.  These come in small packs that are easily assembled for quick use.

Steps
Steps should be no smaller than 300mm front to back, and between 150-170mm high.  They should have a luminous strip on the leading edge of each step to distinguish it for visually impaired people.

Toilets
These guidelines also take into account changing rooms, bathrooms and bedrooms.
The room must be at least 1500mm wide by 2200mm long.  The door must open outward, and have an emergency release lock.  There should be a pull bar by the toilet, and the taps should be of lever type.

Fire exits
Fire alarms should not only be aural but also visual for the people of harder hearing.  Fire exits should have no steps outside, and should have an easy lever handle for people of lesser strength.  There should also not be any obstructions outside of the fire exit.