Surprise move to tighten fire safety rules to delay more jobs as clients struggle to ensure viability
Michael Gove鈥檚 decision to lower the proposed threshold for second staircases in new residential blocks will stall more schemes and could lead to redundancies, industry experts have warned.
The housing secretary surprised the built environment sector yesterday by revealing the government is now intending to lower the requirement for additional stair cores in buildings from the 30m proposed last year to 18m.
Gove鈥檚 Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said it was 鈥渃onfirming the intention鈥� to mandate the fire safety measure at the new lower height despite giving no forewarning to the sector, or even to its own consultants.
The move is now expected to delay schemes above 18m as clients are forced back to the drawing board to ensure viability, worsening the disruption which has hit the housing sector since the 30m threshold was announced in December.
The higher threshold, which was brought in with immediate effect in London by the city鈥檚 mayor Sadiq Khan in February, has resulted in major housebuilders including Peabody and Berkeley putting large numbers of schemes on hold so second staircases can be added.
HTA Design managing partner Simon Bayliss said Gove鈥檚 decision, which comes at the height of summer when many staff are on holiday, has been done 鈥渟eemingly almost to maximise disruption鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 massive,鈥� he said of the move, adding: 鈥淭here鈥檚 very little in London that goes below 18m somewhere in the project because of the pressures on viability.鈥�
And PRP partner Andrew Mellor said the lack of warning provided by Gove 鈥渃ould potentially lead to more people not having work to do in design and construction companies and housing developers鈥�.
He said: 鈥淪ome projects over 30m have stalled. I think we鈥檙e now going to see projects between 18 and 30 stalled because they鈥檒l have to revisit, if they have not included two stairs.
鈥淚t is stopping the provision of housing projects moving forward. People have been made redundant because of the stalling process, both in consultants and contracts and organisations.鈥�
He warned there is now a 鈥渧ery difficult period鈥� coming for the housing industry for the next two or three months as clients work out how to respond to the change.
Gove has also been criticised for the lack of regulatory clarity provided in the announcement, despite claiming it 鈥渞esponds to the call from the sector for coherence and certainty鈥�.
No impact assessment has been provided with the move to 18m and no further details on the technical requirements of designing second staircases, including whether firefighting lifts or evacuation lobbies will be included in the mandate.
DLUHC is also yet to outline how the policy will align with the introduction of new building safety regulations expected at the beginning of October
鈥淭he ideal situation would be that everything would align together, so we can respond as an industry to the 黑洞社区 Safety Act and second stairs,鈥� Mellor said.
Bayliss said the lower threshold could lead to higher towers as developers seek to maximise floorspace with second stair cores.
He also said it could result in more demolitions if clients become reluctant to refurbish existing buildings which only have single stairs, a trend which would run counter to Gove鈥檚 recent decision to reject Marks & Spencer鈥檚 plans to rebuild it Oxford Street store.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e refurbishing a building, you鈥檙e gonna say, 鈥榳ell, I don鈥檛 want to end up with a white elephant, or I don鈥檛 want the residents to pick up on the fact that it鈥檚 only got one staircase, and it鈥檚 above 18m.
鈥淚t鈥檚 become more complicated, because people are now much more alert to the implications of the fact that there are regulations and that they鈥檙e changing. Lack of regulatory uncertainty is a massive problem.鈥�
Bayliss added: 鈥淚鈥檝e never known a more difficult time, even in the last 20 years鈥� there鈥檚 nothing鈥檚 moving forward with certainty or any real pace.鈥�
RIBA, which has campaigned for the threshold to be set at 18m, called the move a 鈥渉uge win鈥� for fire safety standards.
The institute鈥檚 president Simon Allford said: 鈥淭his is a significant moment. Over six years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is hugely positive and reassuring to see the government listening to the united call of experts on fire safety, bringing greater coherence and certainty for industry.
鈥滿andating second staircases in new homes over 18 metres is a vital step towards a safer built environment for all. We are pleased to have played our part in this.鈥�
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