BS 8300-2:2018 — Accessible and Inclusive Built Environment: Buildings
Making PA information accessible within inclusive buildings
What this is
BS 8300-2:2018 is a British Standard code of practice, published by BSI, giving design recommendations for accessible and inclusive buildings. Part 2 covers buildings themselves (Part 1 covers the external/site environment). It is widely used by architects, designers and facilities managers as a reference standard for accessible building design in the UK, and has historically been linked to Building Regulations Approved Document M guidance (which has stated it is based on and complementary to BS 8300).
Who it applies to
A broad range of building types — transport, industrial, commercial, health, entertainment, religious, educational and residential (excluding individual dwellings) — and anyone designing, adapting or managing such buildings, including facilities and estates managers responsible for existing PA and information systems.
What kind of instrument this is
A British Standard code of practice (BSI) — not primary legislation. It is a widely recognised, voluntary standard, and accessibility consultants commonly regard it as good-practice guidance relevant to organisations' Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustments duty — though BS 8300-2 itself has no formal evidentiary status in law, and following it does not by itself establish legal compliance.
Specific requirements relevant to announcements and accessible communication
- Clause 12 (Signs and information) — covers visual signage, tactile and Braille signage, and complementary audible information.
- Clause 13 (Audible communication systems, 13.1–13.7) — covers public address systems, assistive listening systems, induction loop systems (with dedicated technical guidance in Annex D), infrared systems, radio and Wi-Fi systems, inductive couplers, and alarm/alerting systems.
- Clause 14 (Lighting) — illumination levels to support lip-reading.
- Clause 16 (Counters and reception desks) — communication accessibility at service points.
- Clause 20.10 — building-type-specific communication considerations for educational, cultural and scientific buildings.
What organisations are expected to do
- Design and operate audible communication systems, including PA, so information reaches people with hearing loss, not only people who can hear a spoken announcement clearly.
- Provide complementary visual or tactile information alongside audible information (Clause 12).
- Consider assistive listening provision — loop, infrared, radio/Wi-Fi — under Clause 13 and Annex D.
- Provide adequate lighting for lip-reading near communication and reception points (Clause 14).
Which requirements AnnounceAgain can help address
The Clause 12 expectation that information be available in more than one sensory format (audible plus visual), and the broader Clause 13 theme that PA and audible communication should genuinely reach people with hearing loss — without requiring the existing PA system to be replaced.
How AnnounceAgain addresses them
- Turns each spoken PA announcement into a visual text equivalent automatically, providing the complementary visual information Clause 12 recommends alongside audible announcements.
- Runs independently of any induction loop, infrared, or Wi-Fi assistive listening system installed under Clause 13, so it can be added without re-engineering those systems.
- Makes text available on a visitor's own device, giving a text-based option that doesn't depend on venue lighting the way lip-reading does.
Requirements AnnounceAgain does not satisfy by itself
- AnnounceAgain is not an induction loop, infrared or radio-frequency assistive listening system, and does not satisfy Clause 13's technical requirements for those systems, which reference separate assistive-listening performance standards.
- It does not address tactile or Braille signage requirements under Clause 12, or lighting-level requirements under Clause 14.
Requirements needing certified hardware or other measures
- Physical induction loop installation, tested and specified against the relevant assistive-listening performance standards referenced by BS 8300-2, if the venue chooses to also provide a loop system.
- Tactile and Braille signage production.
- Lighting design and illumination levels for lip-reading zones.