To: Janet Mc Namara, Planning Section, Sligo County Council
Re: Submission to the Draft Sligo County Development Plan
From: Sligo Public Participation Network, Disability Linkage Group
Date: 29th November 2016
The Disability Linkage Group
Sligo Public Participation Network is an organisation that represents the needs and interests of community and voluntary groups in County Sligo. The Disability Linkage group is made up of those groups, that have a specific interest in the issues that affect the lives of people with disabilities. In September 2016, a range of these groups came together to identify barriers for people with disabilities in the county. The issues outlined in this submission reflect the views of members of that grouping.
Introduction
Everyone should be able to fully participate in society, and built environment accessibility plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. Wewelcome the commitment to universal accessibility and design in 13.2.7 (Accessibility in Development Management Standards), in 6.2 (Delivering Community Facilities) and again in the general policies for the Mini Plans.
The National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan (2013-2015) states: “Society should not require people with disabilities to redesign their lives. If, however, the physical and policy environments are modified with people with a disability in mind, that can enhance freedom and participation and the enjoyment of fundamental rights. For example, accessible transport and accessible buildings and streets are key factors in enabling people with disabilities to participate in work, cultural and social settings” (p3)
We agree that universal design places human diversity at the heart of the design process so that buildings and environments can be designed to meet the needs of all users. It therefore covers all persons regardless of their age or size and those who have any particular physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual ability or disability. It is about achieving good design so that people can access, use, and understand the environment to the greatest extent and in the most independent and natural manner possible, without the need for adaptations or specialised solutions (NDA, 2016[1])
In line with the commitment to universal design stated above, specifically, we propose the following amendments to the County Development Plan:
- Universal Design Standards
We welcome Sligo County Council’s intention to fulfill universal design criteria. We request that the objective to meet and implement universal design standards and accessibility in the built environment is stated clearly within Section 5 ‘Housing’, and Section 8 ‘Transport and Mobility’.
- Changing Places Facilities
In Sligo, many citizens are actively excluded from our city and towns, through a lack of fully accessible toilet facilities. Standard disabled toilets do not meet the needs of all people with disabilities – and, indeed, other mobility issues including multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease and the elderly – as some people need extra facilities to allow them to use the toilet.
Changing Places facilities are different from mainstream accessible toilets in that they include both a hoist and a height-adjustable changing bench (See Table 1). They have been designed to put health, safety and dignity concerns of the person with a disability and the carer to the fore. Parents are currently being forced to change their loved ones on bathroom floors because adequate facilities are not available in public places.
We ask that provision can be made in the plan to develop a ‘changing place’ in Sligo as part of any town refurbishment works and/or retail development (see appendix for more information on this concept).
- Transport
We welcome provisions made for transport in section 8.2. We request that integrated accessible transport provision be stated as an objective. Currently many modes of public transport are not accessible for people with disabilities.
- Cycling and Walking Objectives
It has come to our attention that many walking paths in Sligo town are inaccessible for wheelchairs in Sligo and other towns around the County. We propose that an accessibility audit of public walkways in Sligo (initially) and other towns around the county is undertaken, so that improvement works can take place.
- Access to beaches
Sligo is blessed with many beautiful beaches. We ask that provision be made in the plan for improving accessibility to beaches in the County – this action could include the provision of an audit of access to beaches, the provision of beach wheelchairs and universal design accessibility and toilet/changing facilities. This action will have a positive impact on people living here and for visitors to the county. A model of best practice can be seen in the award winningBeach Wheelchair Initiative piloted by Wexford County Council.
- Housing and Strategy to address needs arising from move to decongregated settings
A discourse of special needs
Housing for people with disabilities is addressed under the heading ‘special needs housing’ (5.5) alongside housing for older persons, homeless people and refugees. Notwithstanding that the discourse of ‘special needs’ has undoubtedly become synonymous with the provision of education for children with disabilities, it cannot be assumed to be an acceptable term that explains our understanding of the housing needs of people with disabilities. Borrowing the term ‘special’ in this context, while perhaps understandable, is in fact reinforcing a discourse of ‘specialness’ which has come to dominate our thinking in disability policy making. Framing the proposals for housing for disabled people in the language of special needs is in fact a form of exclusionary practice that is underpinned by disablist, psycho-medical assumptions in which disability is explained by means of individual deficits and abnormalities. By locating this policy within a discourse of ‘special needs’ the plan risks constricting and restricting the range of possible solutions possible, and with them the “subliminal undertow toward outdated models”[2]. Rather that locating this and the other categories within this section to the rhetoric of special needs, we propose that a more inclusive approach to framing these issues will serve to ensure that planning for the emerging diverse needs of our society becomes a mainstream activity for all involved in local decision making.
- Congregated Settings Housing Strategy
In the coming months and years, many people currently living in congregated settings in the county, will be moving to live within the community as part of Government’s strategy Time to Move on from Congregated Settings – A Strategy for Community Inclusion. The decongregation of Cregg House is one of a selected number of sites that has been prioritised nationally for implementation. Apart from proposals to ‘facilitate the phased redevelopment of the existing Wisdom services care facility at Cregg’(p. 92), the plan does not identify the housing strategy that is being pursued to address the needs arising from this project. At a minimum, the plan should acknowledge the need for joined up thinking and approaches to facilitating this move to the community, identifying how best the local authority can support this project.
Conclusion
We welcome many provisions within the draft Development Plan in particularthe policy of Sligo County Council to achieve universal accessibility in the built environment and provision made to accommodate the housing of people with diverse needs. In addition, we welcome the continuation of supports for independent living of older people and the provision of purpose built accommodation.
Given our aging population, it is important to monitor the needs of this age group on an ongoing basis and be open to/support a range of provision that will allow people to live independently as long as possible, this could include supported accommodation/living options.
At a recent meeting of PPN members who have an interest in matters related to disability, the need to provide inclusive provision for people with disabilities was emphasised, so that all people have equal opportunities to engage in any activity of their choosing in the county. Addressing the issues raised in this submission, will greatly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families in County Sligo.
Appendix: Changing Places Criteria
The Changing Places campaign has flourished in the United Kingdom since it was established in 2007 and there are now over 850 installations in place, including installations in Northern Ireland. The provision of these facilities has proved a life-changer for thousands of families in the UK.
Changing Places facilities are different from regular accessible toilets and include the following extra features:
● Height-adjustable, adult-sized changing bench
● Ceiling track hoist system
● Height-adjustable wash-hand basin
● Adequate space for disabled person and up to two assistants (12 meters squared)
● Centrally located toilet with space both sides for assistants
● Privacy screen
● Wide paper roll
● Large waste disposal bin
(Source: Inclusion Ireland)
Further information can be found through links below:
Changing Places UK Guide:
Changing Places Criteria:
[1] National Disability Authority. Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach. External Environment. Available at (Accessed 26/10/16)
[2]Quinn, G. (2015). All Power to the People – why change on disability policy is so slow in Ireland: Lessons for the next generation of researchers’.Professor Gerard Quinn’s keynote address at the ‘Current Irish Research in Disability’ seminar October 9 NUI Galway. Retrieved 1 June 2016 from