Cathedrals must offer a welcome to

[CATHEDRALS ARE BEAUTIFUL historic buildings and living places of worship and they should be open to – and able to be enjoyed – by all.

Cathedral chapters have a responsibility, both as Christian places of worship and under the Equality Act 2010, to make reasonable provision for access, including identifying and dealing with any obstacle to accessing their cathedral and its precincts. They need to take reasonable steps to make it possible for a disabled person to use their services.

The advice given to all churches, which of course includes cathedrals, is that they should think about: • The access to the inside and

• outside of the building • Accessing the toilets

• Accessing noticeboards

• Circulating in the churchyard and on paths

• Participating in the service or other

• activities

They should also consider if there is anything that prevents or makes it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to get involved. If so, then reasonable steps must be taken to: • Change or remove it • Offer another method to use the services • Provide aids – eg induction loops, handrails, large-print sheets, etc

Many types of works at a cathedral will have an access and accessibility dimension, even if that is not their focus – new lighting, reordering or toilets for example.

A named member of chapter should manage proposals to carry out access works or to install new access equipment.

The proposals should be developed in close discussion with the cathedral architect and archaeologist to make sure the impact of the work is understood and any necessary mitigation measures are incorporated from an early stage.

Hull-based access consultants About Access advocate that architects and project leaders should avail themselves of the services of an access expert at an early stage.

In its guidance, the Cathedrals Fabric Commission recommends an even more proactive approach: “The commission strongly encourages all cathedral chapters to carry out an access audit of the cathedral, its precinct Photo © Robin Stott (cc-by-sa/2.0)

and ancillary buildings as appropriate, to Access ramp up to Coventry Cathedral entrance provide an accurate picture of access issues and needs. “It also encourages all chapters subsequently to develop an access policy for their cathedral to provide a framework for managed solutions to access issues such as carrying out work to the cathedral building, precinct or ancillary buildings, and installing new access equipment; and to guide the development of specific proposals. This policy should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.” q