Sport England publishes new guidance for accessible and inclusive facilities

Sport England has produced new guidance intended to ensure sport and leisure facilities are safe, welcoming and accessible to all.

Aimed at planners, architects, building owners and operators, the new Accessible and inclusive sports facilities (AISF) guidance encourages the design of spaces that reduce or remove barriers to being more active. That includes creating and maintaining facilities that are accessible to disabled people and meet the needs of a diverse range of communities, such as those related to faith, sex, sexuality and gender identity.

The document will become the standard in this area, replacing Sport England’s previous Accessible Sports Facilities Design Guidance, originally published in 2010.

According to Sport England, the expanded title and content are reflective of a “broader, more nuanced approach to inclusion”.

In the introduction to the guidance, Sport England’s director of equality, diversity and inclusion in sport, Viveen Taylor, writes: “The built environments where movement and physical activity take place can sometimes be a person’s biggest barrier to being more active.

“This guidance provides the technical Information needed to ensure that our facilities are not just functionally accessible but intuitive, inviting, and capable of both attracting and meeting the needs of our increasingly diverse communities.”

While the guidance seeks to ensure new and existing sports facilities meet the requirements of the Equality Act (2010), it also promotes a proactive approach to identifying community needs and removing potential barriers, rather than solely meeting minimum statutory standards.

It draws upon recognised best practice examples for accessibility and wider inclusion, and aims to increase awareness and use of inclusive design principles – such as placing people at the heart of the design process to reflect the needs of the community, providing flexibility of use and acknowledging the diversity and difference of users.

The guidance is available as a series of accessible documents and can be accessed on the Sport England website.