Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has published consultation on banning combustible cladding on the external walls of high rise residential buildings over 18 meters tall in England.
The cladding believed to have been used on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations and should not have been used and the Government wants to ensure that there is no doubt about which materials can be used on tower block homes.
The consultation is inviting views on our proposals to revise the building regulations to ban the use of combustible materials in the inner leaf, insulation and cladding that are used in external wall systems on these buildings.
Residents, industry and other interested parties will now be able to have their say on proposals affecting the safety of homes. The Government is legally required to consult on substantive changes to the buildings regulations before any change in the law and this consultation will end on 14 August 2018.
‘The Grenfell Tower fire was an appalling tragedy and we must do everything we can to ensure a disaster like this never happens again. I have listened carefully to concerns and I intend to ban the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high rise residential buildings, subject to consultation,’ said Brokenshire.
‘The cladding believed to have been used on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations. It should not have been used. But I believe that the changes on which we are consulting will offer even greater certainty to concerned residents and to the construction industry,’ he added.
Following a comprehensive review of fire safety and building regulations, Dame Judith Hackitt recommended that a simpler but more robust approach to the construction and on-going management of high rise residential buildings was needed.
The Government welcomed the Hackitt report and is going even further than her recommendations, committing to banning or restricting the use of desktop studies from being used to assess the fire performance of cladding systems, unless a previously launched consultation demonstrates that they can be safely used. It has now has closed and responses are being reviewed.
The Government has also pledged to change the law to achieve meaningful and lasting reform of the regulatory system, with strong sanctions for those who fail to comply and invited views it could implement major reform of the regulatory system in line with the Hackitt review.
An Independent Expert Advisory Panel has issued advice to building owners on how to ensure that their buildings comply with the existing building regulations.
