Student Naomi Stenning says getting around King’s College London in her wheelchair feels like running a marathon.
For the past two years, she has been campaigning for better access for wheelchair users, but has been met with challenges due to the campus’ listed status.
King’s College London said it required listed building consent to make adaptations.
“King’s College London is almost 200 years old and given the age of some of our heritage buildings, adjustments are often highly complex. We did require Listed Building Consent to level floors and install automated doors and we fully appreciate this can be a frustratingly slow process, which has been exacerbated by supply chain issues and Covid”, it said.
It also said more than £450,000 of improvements had been made and that it had worked with Naomi throughout her time at King’s to ensure her teaching and learning activities were in accessible spaces.
However, accessibility experts say there are always adaptations that can be made to historic buildings and with an ageing population, building owners and designers need to rethink access for the future.
Story by Alison Earle and Ian Paice
