The tragedy which took place on 14th June 2017 when Grenfell Tower in London caught fire and 72 people lost their lives has once again been in the headlines with the conclusion of the public inquiry, which was set up to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the conflagration. Grenfell was the biggest loss of life in a residential setting since the Second World War.
The damning conclusion states:
‘We conclude that the fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry to look carefully into the danger of incorporating combustible materials into the external walls of high-rise residential buildings and to act on the information available to them.’
How can we be sure this won’t happen again?
Following the fire, the government mandated the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, which made 53 recommendations based on the verdict that the systems which were in place to ensure fire safety and structural security were unfit for purpose.
The culmination of these recommendations is enshrined in the Building Safety Act 2023, and anyone involved in building needs to be familiar with the new regulations. They are intended to reform completely the construction industry’s operational methods, and heavily emphasise building safety, accountability and transparency. It’s important to note that the Act enhances but doesn’t replace existing legislation on fire safety and CDN compliance; these must still be upheld.
How will this be done?
The Act creates three new bodies which between them are intended to ensure seamless supervision of the new rules:
The Building Safety Regulator
This has a particular input into high rise developments and will supervise the safety of all buildings. It’s intended to ensure safety in the design and construction of high-risk buildings, and part of its remit is allow residents of a building a voice through the establishment of a residents’ panel.
The National Regulator of Construction Products
This supervises the increased efficiency of the construction products regulatory regime, scrutinises current use of products and enforces safety regulations in this sector.
The New Homes Ombudsman
This scheme ensures new build home owners have a specific route for complaints.
Higher risk buildings
The intention of setting up these bodies is to reduce as far as possible the risk to life and property of a fire or structural incident in a higher-risk building. A higher-risk building is defined as one which has at least two residential units and is either seven storeys high or contains one story that is higher than 18 metres above ground level. This includes care homes and hospitals during the construction phase.
If work is going to take place either to construct or carry out work on a higher-risk building, an application must be made to the Building Safety Regulator. This must show how building regulations will be met and how duty holders will meet legal requirements.
Information must include:
- Height of the building
- Start on site date – foundations and drainage on new builds and erection of partitions on refurbishments
- Date when Building Regulations application commences
- Appointment of named duty holders, with their full contact details
The application has to be accepted before works commence and will remain in force until the project is complete and signed off by an independent Registered Building Control Approver. Failure to comply means that the application will cease after three years, and any works will become subject to new regulation. If a duty holder changes then a new notification must be put in.
Duty holder responsibilities
An important change to the Building Safety Act introduced duty holder roles, which cover the main stakeholders in a construction project; the client, the principal designer and the principal contractor. These have clear accountability and statutory responsibilities as a development goes through the stages of design, construction, refit or refurbishment. They must take all necessary steps to ensure any work which takes place under their aegis complies with Building Regulations requirements throughout the supply chain, and ensure measures are in place to prevent building safety risks and reduce any impact if an incident does take place.
The Golden Thread
This is another key measure implemented in the Building Safety Act. It requires all information on a higher risk building to be created digitally, collated, stored and regularly updated. It covers both building work and subsequent maintenance and will ensure that anyone with responsibility for a building has accessible and accurate information at every stage in its life cycle, be able to identify, manage and mitigate safety risks, and prevent or reduce issues arising from the spread of a fire or structural issue.
Declaration of compliance
Before the certificate of completion is issued Building Control requires a declaration of compliance from the three main duty holders. All records throughout the duration of the project need to align, which is where the Golden Thread provides the continuity. The principal contractor and the principal designer must declare that they have carried out their duties under Part 2A (Dutyholders and Competence) of the Building Regulations 2023.
Previously, if there were a few minor outstanding issues on completion of a building, Building Control would have given a ‘letter of comfort’ to the contractor which allows for these to be rectified during a given time period. This is no longer permissible. The three duty holders have to sign a document stating that the building has been built to the required standards to their knowledge, so the ownership of the works sits firmly with these three parties.
In common with all responsible contractors, here at Oakwhite we welcome this new legislation and are completely up to speed with its requirements. We’ve completed successful fit outs and refurbishments all over the UK and pride ourselves not only on our high standard of workmanship but on our meticulous compliance with safety measures.
If you’d like to have a chat about a building project, do contact us via email, or give us a call on 01403 586062 to speak to one of our friendly team members.