States buildings to be audited for their accessibility

Frossard House is among the buildings to be audited

More than 40 of the States of Guernsey's buildings are set to be audited for their accessibility.

The project will include Sir Charles Frossard House and Edward T Wheadon House along with the island's schools.

A contract for the work has been put out to tender, and interested parties have until 5 May to apply.

Former head of Building Control Tony Yates said getting all of the buildings to comply with new anti-discrimination laws would be "difficult".

Under the new laws the States needs to produce accessibility action plans by October 2028.

For everyone else the duty to make reasonable adjustments to physical features comes into force on 1 October 2028.

Tony Yates has previously been involved in auditing beaches for accessibility

Mr Yates, who has previously done a number of accessibility audits on the island's beaches said: "Providing adequate signage for those with visual difficulties, providing better access - it's not all about ramps and lifts.

"Providing accessible toilets is important as a lot of the buildings don't have toilets that are up to standard."

He said the new school buildings like Beaucamps and St Sampson's High will already be largely accessible and require few changes.

Edward T Wheadon House may need significant work to make it fully accessible

He believed other buildings will be more challenging: "From the start I didn't think Edward T Wheadon was the right location for the new customer hub."

"It's going to be very, very difficult, the States owns some very old buildings. Castle Cornet for example, if you want to make that accessible it's almost impossible."

"Amherst School for instance will be difficult, there will be challenges along the way."

Mr Yates stressed the importance of this work: "There are a lot of people with disabilities on island who need better access to public services and public buildings."

"Guernsey has fallen behind the UK and is playing catch up."

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