Gove mandates two staircases for all new high-rise housing over 18m

Just before Christmas, the government published a consultation proposing to improve fire safety for high-rise residents by mandating two staircases in all new residential buildings above 30m.

While the outcome of this consultation has not yet been published, in a speech yesterday (24 July) Gove confirmed the government would be opting for the lower 18m height following ‘confirmation from expert bodies that they support this threshold’.

He said: ‘This is a considered and gradual evolution of safety standards which, when taken with our other fire safety measures and reforms, ensures the safety of people in all tall buildings – both new and existing.’

The new height threshold will bring England into line with many other countries around the world as well as with Scotland, where single-stair towers above 18m are already banned. The lower trigger point had been called for by a range of industry bodies and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

The consultation and the uncertainty over what the final height threshold would be set at have caused a headache for developers and already forced many architects into redesigns.

Schemes that have been recently altered include Bell Phillips' 1,120-home scheme near Edgware Road, while housing association Peabody has put many of its large projects on hold.

Projects in London have been particularly affected following mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision in February, that all new buildings above 30m must include a second means of escape.

According to recent figures by industry tracker Glenigan, over 23,000 new residential units currently approved or in planning are likely to have caught up in the rule change.

In May, at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum London, deputy mayor Jules Pipe said development in the capital had ‘ground to a halt’ as the industry waited for government clarity over second staircase rules.

He added: ‘DLUHC [the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities] will work rapidly with industry and regulators over the summer to design transitional arrangements with the aim of securing the viability of projects which are already underway, avoiding delays where there are other more appropriate mitigations.’

‘DLUHC will work rapidly on transitional arrangements for projects already underway’

In a document published on 23 December, the DLUHC said it was ‘concerned that some tall residential buildings are being designed with a single staircase without due consideration by the designers on the level of safety provided’.

Proposing the 30m threshold, the department said: ‘It is our view that the provisions of a second staircase can provide some benefits for very tall residential buildings such as added resilience for extreme events and reduced conflicts between emergency responders entering a building and those trying to escape, reducing the risk of the smoke ingress into an “escape” stairwell.

‘In addition, [with] the provision of a second staircase, residents will have an alternative means of escape in the event one route became filled with smoke.’

In recent months, a group of organisations called on Gove to lower the threshold to 18m. These included the RIBA, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Housing LIN), Disability Rights UK, Inclusion London and Claddag (Leaseholder Disability Action Group).

‘It is hugely positive and reassuring to see the government listening’

Responding to the news, RIBA president Simon Allford said:  ‘This is a significant moment. Over six years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is hugely positive and reassuring to see the government listening to the united call of experts on fire safety, bringing greater coherence and certainty for industry.  

‘Mandating second staircases in new homes over 18m is a vital step towards a safer built environment for all. We are pleased to have played our part in this.’