The first phase of a £300m regeneration of Doncaster’s Waterdale is now accessible to all, regardless of ability…
Doncaster Council’s new £26m Civic Office is home to about 1,600 staff, and includes a modern council chamber, and purposebuilt ‘one stop shop’ where local people can access council services. Appreciating that we all sometimes need to go to the toilet when away from home, the council has chosen to have a Changing Places accessible toilet, supplied by Total Hygiene, included as part of the ‘one stop shop’ facilities.
Located in the main reception area, the Changing Places toilet is larger than a conventional ‘disabled’ toilet, and has additional equipment including a changing bench, hoist and shower seat. Thus, anyone who needs the help of a carer is able to undertake personal hygiene, with adequate space and appropriate aids, when visiting the Council offices, or the surrounding Cultural Quarter.
Joan Beck, Doncaster Council’s Director of Adults and Communities, commented,
The One Stop Shop consolidates the council’s town centre customer facing services into one facility which means residents can now deal with the enquiries on one visit, to one location. By including a Changing Places facility, everyone wanting to do their council business, or simply visiting our new Civic and Cultural Quarter could do so safe in the knowledge that the facilities they may need were readily available.
Added Robin Tuffley, marketing manager at Total Hygiene,
Under BS8300:2009, it is ‘best practice’ to include a Changing Places toilet in any building to which the public have access; under the new Building Regulations Approved Document M, it is also ‘desirable’ that one is incorporated.
The Changing Places campaign calls for ‘bigger and better’ accessible toilets that enable people who need the help of a carer to have the space, and equipment, to undertake personal hygiene in an appropriate, clean environment when away from home. Since the campaign began, over 400 have been opened at venues across the UK.
Total Hygiene sponsors the Changing Places campaign, enabling service providers to benefit from its 50 years of experience in advising on, supplying, installing, commissioning and maintaining disabled toilets. The company manufactures the Closomat wash and dry automatic toilet, the only unit of its type developed specifically for disabled people: since the WC’s concept was initially developed, Total Hygiene has sold over 40,000, many of which are still in daily use 30 years after first being fitted.
