Shelley Faulkner: Building inaccessible new-builds to adapt them later on is poor economics | Latest news

Shelley Faulkner is a Community Occupational Therapist (OT) in the West Midlands, specialising in housing and adaptations. After sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2013, and unable to return to her own home due to its inaccessible design, Shelley retrained to help others in similar situations. Here, she highlights what she believes can be a costly, disruptive and sometimes short-sighted process of adapting new-build homes that could have been built in an accessible way from the outset.

In my work, I’m yet to meet a person unable to meet their own needs in an accessible home, but I’ve met too many disabled people that can’t live safely and independently in a home that doesn’t meet their basic accessibility needs.

Generally, one might assume that an ‘accessible home’ is designed for a wheelchair user. However, it’s only mandatory, in England, for all new-build homes to be built to the ‘visitable’ M4(1) standard, which means wider doorways and a level front entrance, but turning circles aren’t considered, and there may be steps to outdoor spaces. This standard allows a wheelchair user to access the living room and downstairs toilet with assistance, but unfortunately it doesn’t mean they could live in that home independently.

It’s been over 10 years since Part M of English Building Regulations was changed to include two optional accessible housing design standards, known as ‘accessible and adaptable’ and ‘wheelchair accessible’. But such homes are not commonplace.

You might also think that all new bungalows – a housing type meant to be the gold standard of later-living – would be accessible by standard, but this is not the case.

Inaccessible new-builds

Here’s a common scenario of a disabled person trying to get accessible housing. Mr. Smith, a non-wheelchair user, 52, has been diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s Disease. He lives alone and, as he no longer feels safe on the stairs and managing his property, he has asked for more suitable housing. Luckily, Mr. Smith has been a housing association (HA) tenant for several years, as if he wasn't, he’d have to wait 12 months on a ‘starter tenancy’ before the HA would agree to make any adaptations to the property.

Mr. Smith is offered a new-build bungalow, but on visiting it he finds there are steps to the front and rear entrances, hard-to-reach kitchen cupboards and a bath with a shower unit high above it – the only one in the property. The front steps are doable, for now, with mobility aids and on his better days.

On requesting bathroom adaptations, the HA informs Mr Smith that the developer has control of the property for the first 12 months and has declined to make any alterations.

So, the only route to getting adaptations is through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which are paid by local authorities. As the DFG is subject to a financial means test , it might mean that, because of his income and savings, Mr. Smith’s application could get rejected.

Fast forward 12 months. Mr Smith has received no response on his DFG application. He still can’t access his bathroom independently, which has substantial consequences; he declines social invites and doesn’t feel clean enough for a  professional work setting.

Waste of resources

But what if, at the point of planning the property, a level-access wet room was created, all entrances were truly level, and the kitchen worktops and cupboard heights were more flexible for all users?

Building in an accessible, inclusive way avoids wasting initial build costs and the need for expensive adaptations. So, why wait for someone to quit their job as they’re unable to maintain personal care? Why create homes from scratch that are so short-sighted and wasteful? Why create the fight for accessible homes when there should not be one?

All new homes need to be built to higher accessibility standards, so we can start to make progress in creating a housing stock that works for everyone.

Image: Shelley with her dog Nola

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If you want to find out about the number of accessible homes being planned in your region, read our recent insight report:   A forecast for accessible homes 2025: Accessible housing in local plans. Habinteg’s inclusive design experts, the  Centre for Accessible Environments , provide professional consultancy and training for developers on M4(2) and M4(3) housing. Our  Inclusive Housing Design Guide and the  Wheelchair User Housing Design Guide give clear advice on how to meet and surpass the requirements for M4(2) and M4(3) housing.