The refurbishment of Royal Court House/States Building.

1240/5(1848)

QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY 29th APRIL 2003, BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN

Question

1. In P.119/2000 entitled Royal Court House/StatesBuilding:approvalofdrawings,' the three new lifts are stated as being accessible bywheelchairs.Therefore,would the President inform memberswhythe lift located near the OldLibrary/RoyalCourthas a stepbetween its access and that of theCourt,andwhat, if anything, the Committee intends todo to rectify this?
2. W o uld the President inform memberswhy there are no tactile warning strips fitted to thetopofeach flight of steps ofthenew exterior entrancepodium?
3. W ould the President inform memberswhether the disabledgroups,whichwereconsultedprior to the proposals contained in P.199/2000, have since been invited to test the new facilities, and, if so, what, if any, commentshavebeenmade?
4. A s the States Building is a Site of Special Interest, (S.S.I.), would thePresident confirm whether any of the windows replaced orrefurbishedduring the project have beenaltered in any way, and, if so, their location, the natureof the alterations carriedoutandwhy such alterations were necessary, and, if this is the case,whether the Committee will betakingsteps to rectify thewindowstotheir original designand specification?

Answer

1. F ro m the new entrance, all three new lifts are accessible bywheelchairusersas stated. However, it is not possible to gain access to all partsofthe building from all three lifts. Due to the constraintsimposedby the existing multi levelled interior, there are a few areaswhichcannot be accessed by wheelchairusers. The particular area referred toby the Deputy is located betweentheOld Library andthe Royal Court whereitwas not possible to create a ramp to accommodate the existing single step. Should access be required to theRoyalCourtbysomeone in a wheelchair, the lift closer to theStatesChambergives direct access. Similarly, if access is requiredto the Old Library, the lift from themainpublic entrance gives direct access.In the possible eventof a prisoner being in a wheelchair, assistance would have tobegiven to negotiate the single step in thecorridorbetween the lift and the Royal Court.

It s h o uld also be noted that the existing lift at the Church Street end of the building is not large enough to

accommodate a wheelchair.

2. T h e podium steps, extendedterraced steps and the parapet walls were all designedtomatch the detailing of the existing steps and walls. Theuseof tactile surfacesinpavedareasis usually restricted to road crossings as a warningto the visually impaired.Itis not customary to use tactile paving associated with granite paving and steps. It is worth noting that the access audit report prepared by the Centre for Accessible Environmentsmadenorecommendation for the inclusion of tactile paving atthe steps.

S im  il arly, there was no requirement to comply with the Building Bye Laws (Jersey) Technical Guidance

document Part 8 as the work approved was a material alteration to an existing building. Had the corduroy' tactile warnings strips been required, it is possible they would have created a tripping hazard and mobility problems for wheelchairs.

3. N o ne of the parties who were consulted priortodrafting the proposalscontainedinP.199/2000havebeen invited to testthenew facilities as the construction work isnotyetcomplete.
4. T h e approachadopted for dealing with the rotted softwoodwindowswas to replace them with replicas in hardwood.The opportunity was taken to replace the single glazing with thin doubleglazedunits.

O t h e r minor improvements were carried out to a few windows to remove a number of architecturally

inconsistent details. The only one altered of concern to the Deputy of St John is located in the first floor Members' Room facing the Royal Square. Unlike any other window on the elevation it had the top two panes of glass sub divided and openable. As the room now has conditioned air, mechanically distributed, the high level window vents were removed and the replacement window made to match the seven other windows immediately to the right of the elevation (Drawing No. 2980:120A).