Housing and disabled people A toolkit for local authorities in England: Planning for accessible homes

This toolkit has been designed to provide an overview of and assistance in the planning of accessible homes. It is principally aimed at leaders and practitioners in planning and housing strategy.

New housing has a critical role to play in bridging the gap between the need and availability of accessible and adaptable homes. Local authorities have opportunities within the planning process to promote accessible homes, particularly accessible, adaptable ‘lifetime’ homes and wheelchair standard homes.

When developing planning policies, local authorities may face a variety of challenges. Specifically:

• optional access standards in building regulations
• the requirement to evidence the benefits of building accessible homes
• variable access to, and confidence in, data used to support planning recommendations
• limited resources to gather and assess evidence to inform the planning process
• a requirement to demonstrate plan viability, and
• variable approaches by developers.

An appreciation and understanding of the value of inclusive and accessible housing is therefore essential when making housing planning decisions