If you are involved in the delivery of tall buildings, especially in London, where Sadiq Khan has blamed Government dithering for delaying 34,000 homes on major development sites, then the second staircase issue will already be on your radar.

By way of background, the Government consulted on Approved Document B of the Building Regulations between 23 December 2022 and 17 March 2023. The consultation document stated that:

“30 metres is an accepted threshold for increased safety measures such as increased fire resistance provisions and marks a recognised trigger representing an increase in the level of risks in buildings overall. We therefore propose to introduce a new trigger in Approved Document B making provisions such that new residential buildings more than 30 metres are provided with a second staircase.”

Then, on 14 February 2023, the Mayor of London mandated that all residential buildings over 30 metres must have two staircases.

Then, ahead of the response to the consultation on Approved Document B, Michael Gove announced in his “Long-term plan for housing” speech on 24 July 2023 the Government’s intention to mandate second staircases in new residential buildings above 18 metres in height, not the 30 metre threshold that had been consulted on.

Mr Gove promised in his speech that there would be “transitional arrangements in place to make sure that there is no disruption to housing supply”, but, to date, none have emerged and, as Anna Clarke at The Housing Forum has said: 

The lack of technical specifications means that those designing or constructing tall buildings don’t have clear instruction on exactly what they need to do. They are also unable to make sensible evidence-based decisions on risk for themselves, because they are not clear on the core purpose of the two staircases.

To learn more about the second staircases Sam Stafford recently went to a Planning Futures breakfast seminar that was held at Central Hall in Westminster. So that Sam could help 50 Shades listeners learn more about this issue Hannah David and Cian Bryan at Planning Futures kindly arranged for the session to be recorded.

On the panel that day and who share their insights in this episode are:

• Allison Flight, Deputy Head of Development Management at the GLA;
• Adrian Dobson, Executive Director Professional Services at RIBA;
• Mark Wilson, Operational Lead for Policy and Planning Gateway One at the HSE;
• Rhodri Williams, Technical & Sustainability Director at HBF; and
• Emma Williamson, Director of Planning at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

Some accompanying reading.

Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Hackitt review

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/independent-review-of-building-regulations-and-fire-safety-hackitt-review

Letter from the Housing Forum to the Secretary of State

https://housingforum.org.uk/second-staircases-letter-from-thf-to-secretary-of-state/#:~:text=The%20requirement%20for%20a%20second,the%20purpose%20or%20design%20requirements.

Sadiq Khan accuses Government of ‘dither and delay’ over fire safety rules

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-michael-gove-18m-building-height-second-staircase-fire-safety-b1106890.html

HSE’s planning and fire safety guidance

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-and-fire-safety

Some accompanying listening.

Guidance by Thievery Corporation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLEChpC9L3k

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html