Tra 02 - Proximity to Amenities

Amenities – Access to cash - KBCN0359

An ATM inside a building would be acceptable provided that its opening hours are similar to those of the assessed building, regardless of whether there is a nominal charge for the service. Cash-back from the till in a retail outlet is not compliant. Access to cash should be available to the building users at all relevant times of the day. This should not require a prior purchase of goods and should provide access to other services, such as checking account balances.

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Amenities – Assessed building is one of the listed amenities - KBCN0264

Where the assessed building is itself included in the list of amenities, that particular amenity criterion can be deemed to be met, e.g. a supermarket development itself meets the proximity to food outlet required for a Retail type building.

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Amenities – Pharmacy within hospital - KBCN0321

A publicly accessible pharmacy would typically be required in order to constitute a suitable amenity. If it can be confirmed that an internal pharmacy (in Northern Ireland this may also include an onsite controlled medical dispensary) will provide prescribed medicines for building users, this is acceptable.  

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Amenities – Sandwich van as a food outlet - KBCN0557

A food truck/ mobile catering service would not be sufficient to meet the criteria for this issue. The aim of this Issue is to assess the location of the built asset relative to amenities.

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Amenities – Vending machine as a food outlet - KBCN0653

A vending machine can be considered as a food outlet if a range of items, as can be reasonably expected, are for sale to meet the needs of the building users and it is confirmed to be a permanent fixture.

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Pre-payment systems - KBCN0293

Pre-payment systems do not meet the criterion for a cash machine and therefore cannot be used as an alternative. Cash machines provide additional services for building users, such as cash to use in other shops, the checking of bank balances, which a pre-payment system would not provide.

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Safe pedestrian routes: definition, measurement and verification - KBCN0238

Definition Safe pedestrian routes include pavements and safe crossing points, which may be controlled or, for example, be identified by tactile paving, a crossing island or a dropped kerb. An element of judgement may be required, in which case justification should be provided. Measurement Distances could be measured, for example, along a pavement, across a road at a safe crossing point and along the pavement on the other side.  The distance should not be measured diagonally across a road, following the most direct route. Evidence from Google Maps or other digital sources may be used to indicate routes and distances, provided that the scale is appropriate and clearly indicated. Verification The assessor’s site inspection is an important aspect of the assessment of this issue as it must confirm that all relevant information is current and should include photographs of any key areas. This may also help to identify safe crossing points or hazards which may not be apparent from a desktop study. For BREEAM NC and RFO assessments, Google Streetview may be acceptable as evidence to demonstrate safe pedestrian routes and the presence of key features or amenities at Design Stage only. Such information must be verified as above for Final Certification.

07 Mar 2024 - No changes have been made. This appears as 'updated' due to an administrative error.
11 Jan 2024 - Wording re-structured for clarity
19 Dec 2023 - Applicability to BIU V6 confirmed

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