MAYOR OF London Sadiq Khan has warned that a ‘delay to the implementation’ of changes recommended by the Grenfell inquiry is ‘putting lives at risk’.
Last week, Mr Khan reiterated his view that the combustible cladding ban should ‘apply to all new buildings, irrespective of height or use’ in comments during questioning at the London Assembly, in which the assembly’s Andrew Dismore asked him ‘what dangers do you believe that buildings under 18m with dangerous cladding pose to residents?’.
Mr Khan responded: ‘Several recent damaging fires in buildings below 18 metres have demonstrated the danger that unsafe cladding presents to residents. I have always been clear that fire risk does not adhere to strict height thresholds.
'While I welcomed the government’s decision to review the ban on the use of combustible materials within external wall systems, with a view to lower the threshold to 11m in height, I have long called for this ban to apply to all new buildings, irrespective of height or use. The consultation on this review closed on 25 May 2020 and we are still awaiting the government’s response.
‘I have already implemented tougher fire safety requirements in the London Development Panel 2 (LDP2). As such, all new contracts for housing development on publicly owned land, commissioned via LDP2, require sprinklers in blocks of flats and higher-risk buildings, and extends the combustible cladding ban to residential buildings of any height.’
Evening Standard has now reported on Mr Khan’s comments on the recommendations made in the first phase of the Grenfell Tower inquiry, in which he said that delaying the ‘implementation’ of such changes ‘is putting lives at risk’. He also accused both building owners and the government of ‘failing’ the community over a ‘lack of progress’, and was concerned that a similar fire could occur.
The inquiry’s 46 recommendations for changes to ‘ensure the safety of residents in high-rise buildings’, made nearly a year ago, had yet to have seen a ‘timed delivery plan’ implemented by the government, Mr Khan argued, adding: ‘I am concerned that without faster action, the Government and building owners are failing the Grenfell community and putting lives at risk. I know the Grenfell community are fearful that a similar tragedy could happen again and I share their concerns.’
He added that the government ‘must not wait’ to implement the reforms, which are ‘needed to fix a broken system’, while Evening Standard noted that Security Minister James Brokenshire had said in September that fire safety reforms would be introduced in the ‘fastest possible time’. The news outlet also pointed out that of 29 recommendations demanded of London Fire Brigade (LFB), four have ‘so far been completed’, including introducing smoke hoods to aid in rescues.
Mr Khan’s office stated in turn that work had ‘significantly progressed’ on LFB’s remaining recommendations, with the majority expected to be completed by March 2021. LFB commissioner Andy Roe added: ‘This has been a challenging year for everyone and the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in some of our improvement activities taking longer to implement than planned.
‘I share the mayor’s concerns that faster action is needed by the Government, housing and building industries and that urgent changes do need to be made to building safety regulations.’