A countryside path can look flat on a map yet be impossible for a mobility scooter because of a narrow gate, a tight turn or a rutted surface. The Outdoor Accessibility Guidance, published by Paths for All with funding from Forestry England, Natural England, Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot, Paths for All and Sport Northern Ireland, sets out recommended standards for path managers across the UK. Version 1.1 was launched on 18 April 2023. It is guidance for land managers rather than law, and it says there are no statutory accessibility standards for most areas of landscape. This article summarises what it says about gates, widths, gradients and turning space, noting where Scotland differs.
Gates and gaps
The guidance says the least restrictive option is to replace an unneeded gate with a gap, and that any gate design must follow the British Standard for gaps, gates and stiles, BS 5709:2018. It sets a minimum clear width of 1100 mm for gaps and gates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 1500 mm in Scotland, which it says aligns with the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Its recommended standards for all three management zones say there should be no stiles, steps or physical barriers restricting access, and no gates narrower than those figures.
The guidance also says that space beside a gate matters as much as the gate. People using larger mobility vehicles, adaptive bikes and horses need a 4 m diameter space by gates, and one-way gates need more room than two-way gates because the user must open the gate towards them and move around it. Other design points it lists are:
- the force needed to open and close a gate should not exceed 18 newtons;
- latches should be usable from both sides and set between 600 and 1200 mm high;
- self-closing gates should take at least 8 seconds to close; and
- a surface of equal quality to the path should extend for at least 2000 mm from a one-way gate on its opening side.
The guidance notes that RADAR National Key System locks are sometimes used on gates, especially to let large mobility kissing gates open more fully for scooters, but adds that keys can exclude disabled people who do not have one and that alternatives should be explored. Forestry England’s accessibility page separately says its accessible toilets are often opened with a RADAR key.
How wide should a path be?
The guidance’s diagrams give the space envelope for a scooter user as 850 mm, for a wheelchair user 900 mm and for two people side by side 1100 to 1200 mm. It says any route less than 1200 mm wide will limit use by some people. For two-way movement without passing places, it says 1800 mm allows people using wheelchairs, small to medium mobility scooters and double pushchairs to pass, and 2000 mm is more comfortable. Where a path is 1200 mm wide, with 1500 mm preferred, it recommends passing places every 50 m, each at least 1800 mm wide and 2000 mm long.
The three management zones
The guidance groups landscapes into three zones with different recommended standards. Zone A covers formal, intensively managed places such as visitor centres and recreation hubs. Zone B covers informal, moderately managed landscapes such as walking trails and country parks. Zone C covers open, wilder and lightly managed landscapes such as open countryside, nature reserves and woodland. Its standards table sets out the following:
- Surface: firm and even in all weathers in Zone A; firm with a few loose stones in Zone B; and not necessarily firm in all weathers in Zone C, with loose materials, occasional tree roots, potholes and rutting possible.
- Width: in Zone B, at least 1200 mm with passing places at least every 50 m; in Zone C, at least 1000 mm with passing places at least every 150 m. Narrow sections are limited to 1200 mm in Zone A, 900 mm in Zone B and 850 mm in Zone C.
- Gradient: a maximum of 1:20 in Zone A, 1:12 in Zone B and 1:10 over very short distances of 600 mm in Zone C.
The guidance says larger models may not be able to use paths designed for manual wheelchairs and small scooters. Scotland’s higher gate width applies in every zone.
Turning space
Using BS 8300-2:2018 Annex G as its basis, the guidance gives the space needed to turn 90 degrees in a mobility scooter as 1400 to 2500 mm by 1300 to 2500 mm, and to make a U-turn as 2000 to 2800 mm by 1300 to 2200 mm. It adds that some larger scooters need more, and that a Tramper requires 4.2 m of width to make a 180 or 360 degree turn in one move. It urges managers to avoid dead ends or to add sufficient turning space.
For scooter users, the practical lesson is that the dimensions on a scooter’s specification sheet should be compared with the narrowest gate and the tightest bend, not just the path width. The site’s guide to what the law requires of a Class 3 scooter gives its legal size limits, and the canal towpath guide shows how one large landowner describes its own routes.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1100 mm a legal requirement for gates? No. It is a recommended minimum in the guidance, which says it conforms with BS 5709:2018 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Is the Scottish gate width different? Yes. The guidance gives 1500 mm as the minimum clear width in Scotland.
The bottom line
The Outdoor Accessibility Guidance recommends gates at least 1100 mm wide in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1500 mm in Scotland, paths of at least 1200 mm with passing places or 1800 mm for two-way use, and generous turning space. It is not law, so before setting off a scooter user should check the narrowest gate and the tightest turn against the scooter’s own dimensions.
Sources
- Paths for All, Sensory Trust and partners, "Supporting inclusive outdoor access in the UK: Outdoor Accessibility Guidance" (version 1.1, April 2023) (walkingscotland.org.uk)
- Forestry England, "Accessibility information" (forestryengland.uk)