There should be:
In dwellings of three bedrooms or more, a wheelchair user should be able to close the door from within the closet and achieve side transfer from a wheelchair to at least one side of the WC.
There must be at least 1100mm clear space from the front of the WC bowl. The door of the WC will often need to open outward to allow this accessibility.
In small two-bedroom dwellings where the design has failed to achieve this fully accessible WC, the Part M standard WC will meet this standard.
A WC should be provided in the entrance storey of the dwelling and should be located so that there is no need to negotiate a stair to reach it from the habitable rooms in that storey.
The WC compartment should provide a clear space for wheelchair users to access the WC. The washbasin should be positioned so that it does not impede this access.
The clear usable space between the front of the WC bowl and the opposite wall/door should be a minimum of 750mm. The distance from the central line of the cistern and the adjoining wall should be a minimum of 450mm (as shown in diagram 10a).
Where oblique access is provided, there should be a minimum of 250mm to the side of the door (as shown in diagram 10b). The WC door will need to open outward.
The Part M standard WC is acceptable in two-bedroom Lifetime Homes or smaller.
However for three-bedroom houses and larger a fully accessible WC is required.
In both cases, where possible, an individual’s privacy and dignity should be respected whether or not one uses mobility or other equipment.
Given the current width of most wheelchairs, a minimum distance of 700mm from the edge of the WC bowl to the wall is generally required to allow reasonable side transfer from a wheelchair. Diagrams 10c to 10g illustrate WCs that meet this Lifetime Home standard.
But developers must ensure that the Part M measurements in diagrams 10a and 10b are also adhered to.
Ideally, the drainage provision for a future shower should be located within the WC.
The space at the side of the WC bowl required to allow side transfer from a wheelchair can be used for this.
Where it is impossible to locate the drainage within the WC, provision could be located in an alternative, convenient position.
In the diagrams on this page the shower drainage is shown with an ‘X’.