Grenfell disaster leads to new rules
Learning from Grenfell tragedy
TRAGEDY: The Government has pledged to overhaul building regulations after a review prompted by the Grenfell Tower fire flagged up “systemic failure”.
Current rules concerning high-rise blocks were said to be “not fit for purpose”.
THE GOVERNMENT has pledged to overhaul building regulations after a review prompted by the Grenfell Tower fire flagged up “systemic failure”.
Current rules concerning the construction and maintenance of high-rise blocks were said to be “not fit for purpose” and left room for people to cut corners.
Dame Judith Hackitt, who is leading the probe, said a change in culture was needed to ensure safety is prioritised over costs in the construction industry.
She published her findings in an interim report, along with a series of recommendations which were accepted in full by communities secretary Sajid Javid.
The report said: “Many of the findings to date clearly identify the need for a major cultural shift across all of those who are part of the system within the construction, operation and maintenance of complex and high-risk buildings.
“The focus must shift from achieving lowest cost to providing buildings which are safe and fit for people to live in for years to come.”
During a hearing of the Communities and Local Government Committee, Dame Judith described the issues identified by her review as amounting to “systemic failure”. In the report’s recommendations, she said existing documents should be “streamlined” to make them more understandable and tightened up so they were less open to interpretation.
She claimed that the building trade was suffering from competency issues and proper accreditation was needed for those overseeing fire safety in the design, construction, inspection and maintenance of all high-rise buildings. Advice from the fire service should also be central to the design of any new building, it was suggested.
Mr Javid responded to the findings during a statement to the House of Commons, saying: “The current system is complex and confusing, a situation that has developed over many years and under successive governments.
“Today, Dame Judith has published her interim findings, which show that there is a need for significant reform.
“And I can confirm that the Government has accepted all of Dame Judith’s recommendations.”
The review was ordered in the wake of the June 14 disaster, which raised fears that unclear industry standards had allowed dangerous material to be installed on towers.
It is suspected that pressure to drive down the price of refurbishing Grenfell Tower and vague regulations led to cheaper, flammable material being installed on its exterior.
Seventy-one people died when a fire tore through the west London block, while a subsequent safety operation identified hundreds more buildings with similar cladding systems.
A final report is expected to follow in spring 2018, focusing on overhauling the regulatory system and improving safety standards.
The key findings from the report are that building regulations and guidance are “too complex and unclear”; that safeguards to ensure key people working on a building project are assessed for competency are “inadequate”; that clarity of roles and responsibilities across design, construction and maintenance of buildings is “poor” and that sanctions, enforcement and compliance are “too weak” across the industry.
It also says residents who want to escalate concerns are confronted with an “unclear and inadequate” process of doing so.
The Government accepted all of the recommendations
Sajid Javid, communities secretary
MORE THAN six months after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it will come as little surprise that Britain’s building regulations are “not fit for purpose” according to Dame Judith Hackitt’s interim report. “There is plenty of good practice, but it is not difficult to see how those who are inclined to take shortcuts can do so,” she writes.
Yet, while a Downing Street spokesman said the conclusions represented an “important milestone” ahead of a full report being submitted next year, time is of the essence. The longer that corners are being cut, the greater the number of properties – residential and commercial – not being built to the requisite standard.
Given that Theresa May took personal charge of the country’s response to Grenfell, and is now leading from the front on the implementation of the Government’s ambitious housebuilding targets, existing regulations need to be properly enforced until tighter rules are finalised and implemented.
Ministers and officials must not be allowed to drag their feet on this issue – they owe it to the victims of the inferno, and all those families made homeless as a consequence of the country’s worst fire disaster since the Blitz, to act promptly if the cultural shift demanded by Dame Judith is to be brought about. Safety must always come first.
However, it is a timely moment to reappraise planning policy. Not only should all new high-rise buildings be mandated to include sprinkler systems from the outset, but new developments need to be future-proofed. As this newspaper has previously stated, homes and offices should have the most upto-date flood prevention measures. Facilities for cyclists should be routine and there’s a case, given the size of the energy crisis, for new buildings to be fitted with solar panels. The conundrum is who picks up the bill?