You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Homes England calls on sector to sign Building Safety Charter
The government’s housing delivery agency, Homes England, has given its backing to a Building Safety Charter which pledges to put resident safety first in all stages of development.
Homes England announced it has become a “registered signatory” of the charter, which responds to the recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt’s building safety review by “seeking to create positive cultural and behavioural change in the industry’s approach to safety in the built environment”.
The agency said it is calling on the housing sector to follow its lead and is exploring options that will require developers and other organisations looking to work with Homes England to also become registered signatories.
Nick Walkley, chief executive of Homes England, said: “Designing and constructing buildings that are safe to live in is a fundamental responsibility of everyone working in the built environment.
“Dame Judith Hackitt’s review and the investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire have shone a light on the sector overlooking the safety of its residents and customers, and this absolutely has to change.”
READ MORE
“Homes England is committed to making the housing market work for everyone and will leverage its role in the sector, as well as its land, funding and expertise to change behaviour, and build a consensus around transparency, collaboration and prioritising the safety of residents.”
It comes after the government announced any organisation looking to access its new Help to Buy scheme, which is opening this month, must have signed the charter and comply with other quality standards.
The charter was originally conceived by a group of early adopters of Dame Judith’s recommendations, which included housing associations L&Q and Salix Homes.
Amanda Long, chief executive of the Building Safety Charter, said: “We are seeing an increasing number of organisations at all levels and sectors within the construction industry becoming registered signatories of the charter.
“This is particularly encouraging as we look to next year and the evolution of how the charter will utilise benchmarking and verification to underpin its aims of engaging with the entire industry to drive the urgent need for positive culture and behaviour change in the safety of the built environment.”
Sign up for our development and finance newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
