The establishment of an independent review of building safety and regulations in high-rise residential buildings by the Department of Communities and Local Government has been broadly welcomed, but RIBA maintains it should be broadened out as a more comprehensive examination.
Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of EEF, the Manufacturers’ Organisation, has been appointed by government to commission the review in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. It will look at current building regulations and fire safety with a focus on high-rise residential buildings, reporting jointly to the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and the Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
The review will examine: the regulatory system around the design, construction and on-going management of buildings in relation to fire safety; related compliance and enforcement issues; and international regulation and experience in this area.
But RIBA President Jane Duncan believes the review does not go far enough in its current format. “The RIBA welcomes the Government's decision to order an Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and we look forward to seeing the full terms of reference," she said. "However, the suggestion from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) announcement that the review will look at ‘building regulations and fire safety with a particular focus on high rise residential buildings’ is a concern for us.
"It is essential that the review enables a comprehensive, transparent and fundamental reappraisal of Approved Document B in its entirety – not just those aspects relating to high rise residential buildings.
"Anything less risks missing potential gaps in our building regulations that urgently need to be addressed.”
The independent review is an "important step" towards stopping tragedies like Grenfell Tower, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has claimed.
Richard Jones, head of public affairs at IOSH, said: “This is an important step towards ensuring that the adequacy, implementation and enforcement of relevant fire, health and safety and building regulations is reviewed and that international lessons are learned.
“These are all key areas that IOSH called for in our submission to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Team and we are pleased to see that Government action is being taken.
“IOSH notes that the Government expects an interim report from this review before the year end, with a final report by spring 2018. And importantly, that it has promised to act swiftly on any recommendations that it makes.”
Meanwhile, responding to the latest fire safety test results of cladding and insulation, Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “No-one living in a high-rise block should have to live in fear about their safety.
"The 16 councils which own high-rise blocks with different combinations of ACM cladding and insulation have already taken steps and put in measures to reassure residents about safety.
“Councils will continue to get on with what they need to do to ensure people are safe in their homes. This includes replacing materials on high-rise blocks affected by these fire safety tests.
“The tragedy at Grenfell Tower has clearly exposed a systemic failure of the current system of building regulation. The Government must commit to meet the full cost to councils of removing and replacing cladding and insulation systems. It is also imperative that this testing process moves quickly to identify what landlords should be replacing these systems with as soon as possible.
“With these latest test fails affecting buildings owned by a range of different landlords across the country, the Government also needs to make sure there is capacity within the housebuilding industry to take quick action to carry out the scale of remedial work that looks likely to be needed.
“We also continue to call on the Building Research Establishment and the industry to release results of previous safety tests, including desktop studies. Everything must be out in the open and this needs to happen as soon as possible.”
