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Government warns over single staircase use in high-rise buildings
The government has issued a public letter to building control bodies calling on them to carry out detailed fire engineering analysis for tall buildings with single staircases, after plans were put forward for several high-rise buildings including just one staircase.
The government has issued a public letter to building control bodies calling on them to carry out detailed fire engineering analysis for tall buildings with single staircases #UKhousingIn a circular letter sent to approved inspectors and building control bodies across the UK, the government said that following concerns around designers proposing plans for high-rise buildings with just one staircase, it wanted to remind building control bodies that plans need robust and evidence-based designs in relation to structural and fire safety issues for these buildings.
The letter, which was written by Victoria Molho, deputy director of the building safety technical policy division at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said that the department had heard concerns from the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) that some single-staircase design proposals had been based on “selective reading” of the approved documents setting out building regulations.
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According to the letter, BRAC was also unclear how the design proposals would demonstrate compliance with the functional requirements of the building regulations, particularly relating to means of escape in some cases.
The letter comes after plans were put forward for several huge high rises with just a single staircase.
In January developer Ballymore withdrew plans for a 51-storey residential building with only one staircase after the London Fire Brigade raised concerns about the fire safety strategy just hours before it was set to go before planning. The development eventually secured planning permission in April after adding another staircase to the plans.
In January, Grenfell survivors and bereaved raised concerns over plans for a new 35-storey building a few hundred metres from Grenfell Tower, which was being put forward with just one staircase.
The scheme, by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), is part of a new complex that would include 1,760 homes.
Under current British building guidance, single staircases are permitted for high-rise buildings, although this has received widespread criticism.
In the letter, the government said it agrees with BRAC and is concerned that some of these buildings are being designed on the incorrect premise that the guidance in Approved Document B is suitable for these types of uncommon buildings, such as high rises.
Some approved documents may not provide guidance if a building is unusual in its design, setting or scale. Uncommon buildings include those with difficult ground conditions, large timber buildings, some buildings that incorporate aspects of modern construction methods, and very large or tall buildings.
The letter states that it expects building control bodies to be clear with the applicant in the case of an uncommon building that designs must be supported by robust evidence and technical analysis that the design complies with building regulations, particularly for fire safety and structural aspects.
It said that robust fire safety provisions should be made and that these would require a detailed fire engineering analysis of the design.
The government is currently carrying out research into the country’s current building regulations as part of a technical review of Approved Document B.
This includes an analysis of the evidence base of some of the document’s provisions and includes research on means of escape from blocks of flats.
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