Summary
A new requirement for Fire Statements to be submitted with certain planning applications for high rise residential buildings and for the HSE to be consulted on such applications is intended to take effect from 1 August 2021.
The Building Safety Bill (“the Bill”) that was published last year and introduced to parliament in this week’s Queen’s speech will make substantial reforms to the UK’s building and fire safety regime.
Amongst other aspects, it will create a new ‘Gateway’ regime to ensure that fire safety risks are considered at each stage of a building’s design and construction.
The first ‘Gateway’ applies at the planning stage and will affect certain planning applications by imposing new mandatory requirements to ensure that fire safety is considered early on in the development process.