Accessibility auditing is an important element of the design process. 

The purpose of an Accessibility Audit is to establish how well a particular environment performs in terms of access and ease of use by a wide range of potential users, including people with disabilities and the visually impaired, and also to recommend improvements, where necessary.

The scheme can be audited at an early stage of the design, to ensure that accessibility issues have been considered, and also on completion of the scheme, to check that the implementation is consistent with current guidelines and best practice.

Our experience of accessibility auditing has shown that the same issues are encountered by auditors with monotonous regularity.  Typical scenarios encountered by the auditors are as follows:

• Levels of transition from footway to carriageway at crossing points
• Absence of flush kerbs and correct tactile paving
• Narrow footways
• Steep gradients and abrupt level changes