Providing Disabled Access In Listed Buildings

If a building has special architectural structure or is of profound historic interest it becomes listed and added to The National Heritage List as the iconic term implies. Protecting the building by law and preserving our English Heritage. There are Four list of which a listed building or structure maybe added maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

The National Heritage List recognises that a building is special in a national context and brings with it controls over alterations, extensions, and demolition. Contrary to popular belief, listings normally protect the entire building both internally and externally along with any structures or fall within its curtilage.

More recently, we are seeing a growing number being transformed into commercial buildings such as shops, hotels, offices, and restaurants. One successful example of this is Sevendale House one of the Northern Quarters most prominent Edwardian buildings dating back to 1903, once a general warehouse and now a Grade II listed property. SEVENDALE invested £6M in a major refurbishment converting the once warehouse into a prestigious shared office space.

iKONIC Lifts have identified a growing need for proven solutions to provide disable access without interfering with building structures, as listed buildings can prove challenging for their owners wishing to provide accessibility solutions.

There are around 400,000 building entries in England. Graded as below for England & Wales:

Grade 1 Listed Buildings: are of “exceptional interest”, and considered to have outstanding national, historic, or architectural interest. Only 2.5% of all listed structures fall into this category.

Grade 2* Listed Buildings: are particularly important, being of more than special interest; 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade II*

Grade 2 Listed Buildings: are the most common of special architectural or historic interest; 92% of listed buildings are Grade II.

It is hard to be exact as one list entry for example, can cover a row of terraced houses.

Ensure you are compliant with the Equality Act 2010

Reasonable adjustment for disabled people is required under the Equality Act 2010, which can be challenging for owners of listed buildings. It is recommended to hire an access consultant to conduct a full audit of the area to assess any potential issues. Once this has been achieved, you will then need to decide how best to alter the building with out interfering with its historical features. Planning and thought are required to properly install any items, especially lifts. Our team can help with this and offer free no obligation on site assessments.

Ensure you are considering the buildings existing architecture

Even though there are many challenges regarding modifications to listed buildings, Historic England supports owners wishing to install architecturally fitted disabled access. For example, Severndale House in Manchester was able to preserve the original lightwell of the building with a passenger lift that was designed to blend into the environment. Gloucester Cathedral installed a Hiro inclined lift that did not disrupt any of the original structure and did not look out of place against the amazing stonework architecture.

Areas that have been already modified successfully or near existing staircases are the ideal place to install a passenger or a platform lift.

Pits and Headroom can be limited in Listed Buildings

One of the most common challenges are limited pits and headroom’s, which need careful thought and consideration to protect historical interiors and features. Ensure you have the correct fit, form and function first time by appointing a company with proven successful experience, is adviced.

What size does a lift have to be in a listed building

Historic England states that the size of a lift car has to be of such size to hold any type of wheel chair, to achieve this you are looking at a size 2000mm by 14000mm deep, this can provide access to most mobility scooters and allow a wheel chair to turn 180 degrees. Quality platform lifts also can be installed without damaging structures to an existing building of this size and are the more cost effective.

For the smoothest, stress free lift project installation, delivered on time and budget, choose iKONIC lifts, we have provided these services to some of the most iconic Listed Buildings throughout the UK. We hold years of experience and have yet to come across a challenge we have not mastered. Our in-house team has the know-how, experience, and proven solutions to achieve your vision or conquer your technical challenge.

Team iKONIC can install an accessibility solution into any building due to our accreditations, we offer free onsite no obligation surveys to ensure you have the right lift and meet all the restrictions and legislation. Please take a moment to have a look at some of our case studies of past projects where we have provided these services, for further inspiration and information, to aid your decision on an accessibility lift for a listed building that is right for your requirements.