A consultation on
banning the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise
residential buildings which are 18 metres or over has been published.
It was announced in
Parliament by the Housing Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP.
The cladding
believed to have been used on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing
building regulations and should not have been used. The government wants to
ensure that there is no doubt about which materials can be used on high-rise
residential buildings.
This consultation
is inviting views on our proposals to revise the building regulations to ban
the use of combustible materials in the inner leaf, insulation and cladding
that are used in external wall systems on these buildings.
Residents, industry
and other interested parties will now be able to have their say on proposals
affecting the safety of homes. The government is legally required to consult on
substantive changes to the buildings regulations before any change in the law
and this consultation will end on 14 August 2018.
The Secretary of
State for Housing, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said: "The Grenfell Tower
fire was an appalling tragedy and we must do everything we can to ensure a
disaster like this never happens again.
"I have
listened carefully to concerns and I intend to ban the use of combustible
materials on the external walls of high-rise residential buildings, subject to
consultation.
"The cladding
believed to have been used on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing
building regulations. It should not have been used. But I believe that the
changes on which we are consulting will offer even greater certainty to
concerned residents and to the construction industry."
Following her
comprehensive review of fire safety and building regulations, Dame Judith
Hackitt recommended that a simpler but more robust approach to the construction
and on-going management of high-rise residential buildings was needed.
The government
welcomed Dame Judith’s report and went even further than her
recommendations, committing to:
- banning or restricting the
use of desktop studies from being used to assess the fire performance of
cladding systems, unless our separate consultation demonstrates that they can
be safely used; the consultation has closed and we are reviewing responses
- change the law to achieve
meaningful and lasting reform of the regulatory system, with strong
sanctions for those who fail to comply
- invite views on how the
government could implement major reform of the regulatory system in line
with Dame Judith’s review
- clarify building regulations
fire safety guidance (Approved Document B).
Adrian Dobson, Director of Practice at the
Royal Institute of British Architects says: “The RIBA welcomes the Government’s consultation on banning
the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise residential
buildings.
"However, we would like to see a ban of these
materials on all buildings above 18 metres, not just residential. In addition,
whilst we are pleased to see that the Government is going further than Dame
Judith Hackitt’s recent Review, we urge them to take action on all our
recommendations.”
