Installing Platform Lifts Into Period Buildings

Visitors from across the UK, as well as tourists from abroad, all flock to visit beautiful historical buildings such as cathedrals, churches, guild halls and community centres. For some people, however, disappointment sets in when they arrive at a site only to find that it is inaccessible to disabled visitors.

Access to Sites

There are many reasons why a historical site might lack disabled access: if a building dates from before electricity was commonplace, then it’s understandable if it has no lift. Today, however, disabled access is a legal requirement, and many popular historical monuments are modernising their facilities so that as many people as possible can visit and enjoy them.

The difficulty with modernising these historical sites is that there is a possibility of spoiling the historical aspect. The challenge is to maintain the building’s authenticity while ensuring safe access for all visitors.

There Are Solutions

Platform lifts are a particularly good solution to the problems faced when trying to modernise period buildings. They make upper levels accessible to wheelchair users and others with mobility issues and are safe, secure and space-efficient. If the funding is there, a bespoke platform lift can be designed and installed which will minimise the intrusion of the modern world into the historical site.

St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle will be offering disabled access throughout the building after receiving a quarter of a million pounds in donations. A platform lift will allow disabled access to the upper levels, including the Lantern café, and another lift will provide access to the Education Centre.

In Walsall, Caldmore Community House, which lay derelict for a quarter of a century, has been refurbished and is now a focal point for the community. The refurbishments included a disabled toilet and a platform lift to ensure that the whole community can benefit from the renovated building.

There are calls for the historic Guildhall in Windsor to follow suit. Currently, the only alternative to stairs for visitors who want to reach the upper levels is a stairlift, which cannot be used by permanent wheelchair users. People who wish to attend events such as weddings or the Windsor Festival (held in the Guildhall two years ago) can find it difficult, if not impossible, to do so because of the limited access.

The Guildhall is listed for protection at Grade 1, which is the highest level of protection given to buildings. A Historic England spokesperson said that they would encourage “well-thought-out and high-quality adjustments to improve access to the historic environment”.