Planning Director Rudolph Hollis has clarified the regulations surrounding handicapped access.

Mr. Hollis was responding to comments made by Opposition MP Louise Jackson in the House of Assembly during last week's Budget debate. Ms Jackson strongly criticised Government's stance on access for the disabled across the Island, saying there were no Planning laws regulating handicapped access.

However, Mr. Hollis said, Planning laws do stipulate that building owners provide handicapped parking in any parking lot which has space for at least ten cars or more.

And, though Planning statements do not require it, the Building Code does require that handicapped access be provided in new buildings and some existing buildings.

Existing buildings do not have to be renovated to provide handicapped access, Mr. Hollis explained.

However, if a building goes through a period of refurbishment or renovation, then handicapped access would have to be provided within the spaces being altered.

That only affected certain changes, he added. The House of Assembly, for example, has no handicapped access and would not be required to provide it if it were refurbishing an air-conditioning system or adding a heating system.

But if Government added to the building, it would have to provide handicapped access as part of the addition.