Book excerpt: This informative book takes the practitioner through the requirements for Part M of the Building Regulations, explaining and expanding the guidance given in the Approved Document, and comparing the advice in BS83000 and other relevant publications. Access statements are demystified, and the implications for the building in use under the Disability Discrimination Act are clarified. It will inform all those working within the built environment, enabling them to deal with a complex and evolving area of the law which directly affects everyone. As with the other books in the Using the Building Regulations series Part M Access goes far beyond analysis of the Regulations and Documents themselves, and offers practical advice on using not just the traditional routes to compliance but also on the alternative approaches suggested but not explained in the Approved Documents. The advantages and disadvantages of each form of compliance are analysed in depth.