Monmouthshire County Council has successfully made extensive changes to their leisure centre to enable the building to be as accessible as possible, as advised by their Chartered Surveyor and specialist Inclusive Environment Consultant, Rhodri Dean.

Rhodri Dean was able to identify the initial improvement works through to the specification and management for the project, using the skills and expertise he has developed through the RICS Inclusive Environment Scheme.

Key improvements to the Monmouthshire leisure centre include improved space in toilet and changing facilities, replacement of revolving doors with sliding doors and the installation of visual fire alarms and loop systems.

Rhodri Dean MRICS, IEC, Go Property Consultancy Ltd said:

"The RICS scheme has offered me a great opportunity to gain professional recognition of my skills and experience as well as promoting my consultancy services to clients".

Since making the changes to Monmouth Leisure Centre many visitors have commented on the improvements such as Monmouth MP David Davies who was impressed,

"I'm delighted that Monmouth has this centre of excellence ... it's a most welcome development."

Inclusive design is an essential element in ensuring equality of access to buildings.

It is not just about making improvements to accommodate people with disabilities, it includes consideration of the elderly, children and pregnant mothers, in addition to those who require specific facilities to meet cultural or religious requirements for example.

Cerebral palsy swimmer Liz Johnson a Silver medallist in the Paralympic Games in Athens commented:

"I wish all buildings were built like this from scratch. This means that disabled people can come to take part in sports without feeling different. We want to be able to just get on with it".

For more information regarding becoming an Inclusive Environment Consultant please contact RICS Contact Centre on +44 (0)870 333 1600 or email contactrics@rics.org.

Alternatively if you are interested in employing an RICS accredited consultant, visit our online register at www.rics.org/findaniec