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Mayor of London to require fire safety measures for new developments
Sadiq Khan will require a range of fire safety measures for new developments when he launches his draft London Plan.
The mayor has announced that the plan, to be published for consultation on Wednesday, will require development proposals to achieve the “highest standards” of fire safety, requiring features such as robust fire safety plans, evacuation lifts and sprinklers.
The mayor backed the installation of sprinklers in social housing tower blocks across England, a key ask of Inside Housing’s ‘Never Again’ campaign. Dany Cotton, the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade has said that retrofitting of sprinklers “must happen”.
All planning applications for major developments would need an independent "fire statement" produced by a qualified assessor under the proposals.
Setting out his plans, Mr Khan called on the government to ensure that the Grenfell inquiry reports as soon as possible, to make the review of building regulations full and effective and to appoint an independent commissioner for social housing residents.
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Mr Khan said: “The safety of Londoners is my first priority and it is absolutely essential that we learn every lesson we can from the terrible Grenfell tragedy, and do everything within our power to make sure nothing like it can happen again.”
Currently, developers are not required to address fire safety at planning application stage, but can wait until the later building control application stage.
Tom George, director of operations at the London Fire Brigade, added: “The Grenfell tragedy has put an unprecedented spotlight on fire safety and it’s vital that government, local authorities, builders and developers seize this once in a generation opportunity to raise fire safety standards to the highest possible level across all future building developments in the capital, whether they are residential or commercial.
“Only by making fire safety a priority during every part of a building’s life – from the earliest stages of the planning process, throughout its construction, after its completion and through any maintenance and refurbishment work – will we see a significant improvement to safety standards in the capital’s buildings that will reassure those who live and work in them that they are as safe as possible.”
