Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced in January ‘the biggest change in building safety for generation’, including a new regulator, changes to height limits and new consultations, with the new measures to ‘go faster and further to improve building safety’, and the new building safety regulator to be ‘established immediately’ within the Health and Safety Executive.

‘Clarified and consolidated’ advice for building owners, proposals to extend the combustible materials ban and a consultation to lower mandatory sprinkler limits were launched, while a construction expert was appointed to review timescales and ‘identify what can be done to improve pace in the private sector’ in terms of cladding removal. A consultation was open until 17 February on the combustible ban, proposing to lower the 18m threshold to ‘at least’ 11m.

The sprinklers consultation last year saw the government propose lowering the height threshold for new buildings, with ‘detailed proposals’ to come on how a technical review of fire guidance will be delivered. More details have now been reported on the new fire safety programme, which will require all residential buildings above six storeys to be covered by the new regulator, while those above 11m in height ‘will need sprinklers’.

This formed part of a series of releases related to fire safety, including the government response to the aforementioned consultations. Mr Jenrick stated that the new regime would apply to all buildings six storeys or taller ‘even when they are below 18m in height’, a change from the government’s previous perspective that the regime would ‘only cover buildings at or above 18m in height’.

The plan is to ‘retain that threshold’ but include any other buildings six storeys or more in height that are below 18m, and would ‘in due course, extend to include other premises, based on emerging risk evidence’. An impact assessment said this was ‘likely to mean’ that costs for industry ‘of meeting the regulation’ would increase ‘by about 10% above that previously envisaged’.

Mr Jenrick also confirmed that from May, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) would ‘effectively ensure’ sprinkler installations in all residential buildings above 11m in height via an amendment to Approved Document B of the Building Regulations, with this also to ‘call for improved and consistent signage’ in buildings to help residents evacuate in a fire.

Other initiatives include link ups with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and mortgage lenders to ‘ensure that those living in existing buildings with cladding now deemed to be unsafe were able to access mortgages and insurance’. A three stage ‘gateway review’ for all new projects would be overseen by the new regulator, with ‘clear legal duties to comply with regulations’ placed on clients, designers and contractors.

‘Much more stringent’ enforcement measures will back up the new system, with the regulator able to stop work on site and hand out criminal sanctions. Mr Jenrick stated: ‘This new regime will put residents’ safety at its heart, and follows the announcement of the unprecedented £1 billion fund for removing unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings in the Budget.’

LFB ‘welcomed’ the announcement, but noted that senior firefighters ‘have concerns it has not gone far enough’, stating that it had been ‘campaigning […] for more than 10 years’ for mandatory sprinklers in all new high rise residential blocks 11m or taller, while mandatory ‘way-finding signage’ and the sprinkler news are ‘both changes’ it had called for in its response to the consultation.

However, LFB expressed ‘huge disappointment’ that the wider changes ‘will only apply’ to buildings 18m or six storeys tall, as this could mean buildings six storeys tall but less than 18m in height ‘could be deliberately constructed to avoid this threshold, in order to circumvent measures that could help to keep people safe in their homes’. It did however welcome the appointment of Stephen Greenhalgh as new joint Lords Ministers across MHCLG and the Home Office for building safety.

Dan Daly, LFB assistant commissioner for fire safety, commented: ‘We welcome much of this announcement as a huge step in the right direction. We submitted a comprehensive response to the [MHCLG] consultation on sprinklers and other fire safety measures in new high-rise blocks of flats and we are pleased they have taken many of our comments on board.

‘Sprinklers provide much needed time when a fire breaks out and are a simple way to save more lives and reduce the risks to firefighters.  In terms of wayfinding signage, we have stressed that any sign which indicates to firefighters the floor level or hazards must be readable and understandable at all times and in all situations – and we are pleased the Government has listened and made this compulsory.

‘We are disappointed that the announcement about buildings which will be subject to the most stringent regulatory regime hasn’t incorporated buildings below 18 metres from the outset. It’s a huge missed opportunity to address wider risk, especially in existing building stock, where there are buildings that were built just below the 18m mark to avoid more stringent fire safety measures. Effectively those that sought to “game” the previous system are not captured by these changes.’