Professional Changing Places Consultation

A good Changing Places toilet should satisfy the need of users, building regulations, planning, and regulations such as BS 8300. Here are some of the types of professionals and consultants you may need to liaise with before, during or after your project.

Planning Permission/Consent – Planning requirements vary across different sectors with many additional factors to consider (conservation areas, permitted development capacity, listed building etc.). 

At a basic level, a modular Changing Places toilet will typically fall within permitted development. That doesn’t mean it’s a temporary structure, just that it meets certain criteria not to require full, formal permission. This is an area that your chosen provide should support you with from day one, as is obtaining Building Regs certification once your project is complete.

Access Consultancy – A professional access consultant provides advice on how to ensure different types of environment are inclusive. When a Changing Places toilet is proposed it can be useful to seek this kind of advice for making decisions. Where your facility should be located, for example.

Property Survey – An access consultant can help with choosing suitable locations for a Changing Places facility but an architect or building surveyor will be able to provide further advice on where the toilet can technically be situated, what obstacles you may come across and what can be done to minimise/avoid them.

Plan Preparation – Once a suitable location has been chosen, plans will need to be prepared showing the layout of the toilet, what building works will be required and in the case of modular Changing Places solutions, what groundwork will need to be done to prepare the site. 

The plans for the toilet must ensure the facility will meet the British Standard for Changing Places (BS 8300) and be recognised officially by the Changing Places Consortium.

Training – Although staff are not usually expected to assist Changing Places users, training employees how to use the equipment is important. 

Educating employees on why the facility is needed and what type of people are likely to use it can help increase awareness around needs and will help contribute to your overall culture of inclusivity.

A key part of our service is the professional Changing Places consultation and expertise we provide to help your organisation install a facility effectively. With our guidance, you will have a facility that meets the expectations of users, planning, and legislation. RISE can help you with all the above, minimising the work needed to be done at your end.