The Bill received assent on 28th April, but.
Brett Spiller, Director at Chapman Lily Planning explained ‘We are already seeing the impact, with mirrored ‘fire safety assessment’ requirements within some sections of the planning regulations Specialist fire risk assessments are already informing the design of new tall buildings (i.e. those over 18m), as well as proposals for conversion and alteration of tall buildings. In our experience, the measures are fundamental to the core design and this need to be integral to the formative stages of the design process.’
The Health and Safety Executive reported ‘Because Planning Gateway One is live, design is being challenged – designers need to respond to the good practice that is being established so standards are raised at the start of the building’s life cycle. Anyone who still holds onto the idea that building safety is something that can be left to the later stages of design and construction needs to change their thinking. Good building design starts well before the planning stages and carries on right through so that buildings are safe to build and safe to live in and use’.
There is much more to come, starting with the registration of high-rise buildings from April 2023 and the new safety management requirements applying from October 2023.
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