The following requirements, identified in Approved Document M – Access to and use of buildings: Volume 2 – Buildings other than dwellings, apply to both entrance and internal doors. For a single leaf door or one leaf of a pair, the minimum clear opening widths required for various wheelchair approaches and other related dimensions are given in Table 2 and shown below.

Unlike doors in dwellings, the ‘clear opening width’ with regards to doors to non-dwellings is measured up to any projecting door item including furniture, weather boards, etc. However, doors are permitted to open beyond 900 to reduce the impact of projecting elements. A space of at least 300mm is generally required next to the leading edge of the door to enable wheelchair users to reach and grip the handle, unless the door is power operated.

All entrance doors and "where appropriate" internal doors (e.g. in corridors or as required by Parts B and L.36. All lobbies should be capable of accommodating an assistant to help a wheelchair user and various layouts are shown. Part M specifically identifies ‘reduced swing’ doorsets (Leaderflush Shapland Pivette doorset) to reduce lobby lengths.

Two particular requirements continue to cause difficulty:
Opening forces - The current requirement is a maximum opening force of 30N from closed to 30° open, then 22.5N from 30° to 60° open, which can still be difficult to achieve with a door closer (BS 8300 does permit a tolerance of up to 35 N, depending on the location from which the measurement is taken and the accuracy of the force meter used). While hold-open devices or automatic door operation can provide an answer they are not practicable in many situations – for example due to cost or where sound reduction is important. In such circumstances, an appropriate supplement to the Access Statement explaining what reasonable steps are proposed may be submitted.

Visual Contrast - Part M Volume 2 and BS 8300 include requirements for elements of the door to visually contrast – i.e. a light reflectance value (LRV) difference of between 15 and 30 points as follows:

• Between door face and door operating furniture -     Minimum 15 points
• Frame and wall - Greater than 30 points
• Door edge with surroundings - Greater than 30 points (Where held-open or not self-closing).

Clearly, colour schemes need to be established at an early stage to demonstrate compliance.Detailed guidance on visual contrast and LRV’s can be found in BS 8300:2009+A1: 2010, section 7.2.5 and Annex B.

Entrance doors must be clearly sign-posted, easily recognised amongst other building elements (as identified above BS 8300 calls for a contrast in luminance) and the surrounding environment, and not visually obstructed by structural supports. Outward opening doors must be guarded and should not swing across landings. Thresholds should be level or accessible with a maximum overall height of 15mm, minimum number of up-stands (chamfered or rounded if over 5mm) or slopes. Powered doors are preferred over manual and various safety features are cited for these. Special requirements (including manifestation) apply to glass doors to help definition for visually impaired people.

When fitted with a latch, the door opening furniture must be operated with one hand using a closed fist, e.g. a lever handle.Detailed guidance on suitable door furniture can be found in BS 8300:2009+A1: 2010, section 6.5.

For internal situations with a series of double leaf doors on major or escape routes the primary opening door should always be on the same side. Fire doors, particularly in corridors, should be held open with an electromagnetic device operated by a fire alarm system or power failure, and a hand-operated switch. Fire doors, particularly to individual rooms, may be fitted with swing-free devices that close when activated by smoke detectors, the fire alarm system or power failure. 

Doors to WC compartments, wheelchair accessible unisex toilets, changing rooms or shower rooms should preferably open outwards and comply with previous requirements for opening furniture and maximum force. A horizontal closing pull handle and light action privacy bolt with an emergency release should be fitted. Generally, doors must not obstruct emergency escape routes when open and the Leaderflush Shapland Pivette reduced swing doorset offers significant advantages in such situations. In addition, Part M specifically identifies a minimum corridor width of 1800mm where the door of a wheelchair-accessible unisex toilet opens into the corridor (but not a major access or escape route). There are additional requirements for Hotels, Student Accommodation and similar applications. For accessible bedrooms, both the door from the access corridor (which should also have the 300mm space) and to any en-suite bathroom must comply with the width requirements shown earlier. Standard bedroom doors should also comply but without the need for the 300mm space, while standard en-suite bathroom doors do not need to comply. Doors onto balconies from accessible bedrooms should comply, have a level threshold. There should also be a zone with no permanent obstructions 1500mm back from balcony doors.