Rightly or wrongly I have always been under the impression that during construction works once the permanent edge protection has been fitted (to meet the appropriate building regulations) the construction requirement for a minimum height of 950mm was set aside. Normally the permanent is 1.1m on commercial buildings (so not an issue). The question has arisen due to permanent barrier height of 800mm for a disabled viewing area at a sports stadium. Can anyone point me to where I can find out if I am correct or not?

Thanks for that Frank. In the past I had only considered bannister rails in domestic houses where the height is 900mm and believed that because this met building regs for the final use (a home) there was no need for the builder to extend the height by 50mm whilst he completed the property. Certainly i have never seen a builder extend the permanent bannister height in a domestic property so if I am wrong, observed in the breach rather than by compliance. However, the 800mm height for disabled area viewing threw me a bit as it seems too low whilst construction is still taking place and a bit low for final use if non wheelchair users (eg attendants) will also occupy the area.

The problem I find is that people hide behind written examples indicated in the building regs whereas WAH, Equality and other law should also be adhered too, noting that where they are the primary laws the building specifications should be altered to suit the results of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment - e.g. People will not put their heads above the parapet In all cases the appropriate laws should be considered and suitable & sufficient RA's be undertaken thereafter appropriate actions should be carried out - this approach is best but people are exposed Is does not matter if it is 800 or 200 what matters is that the appropriate controls are in place at the appropriate times and its common sense that should be in place

Have a look at paragraph 109 of the ACOP for the Workplace Regs. 1100mm.

Martyn, Have a look in the 5th Edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide) - in particular Chapter 11 on Barriers. You will see that a barrier height of 800mm is allowable if the front edge of the seat when down (such as helpers seats) is within 530mm of the barrier. http://webarchive.nation...afetyatSportsGrounds.pdf There's also another document that might help called Accessible Stadia which you can access via the Football Licensing Authority's website at : http://www.flaweb.org.uk...ations/pubs/acssstad.php You could also contact the Safety Advisory Group at the Local Authority for advice and to confirm they are happy with the barrier height in this location (could be Building Control, Legal, Licensing or Environmental Health), or see if you can speak to one of the Football Licensing Authority's Inspectors via the FLA on 020 7930 6693