The Local Government Association is today calling on
government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of building
regulations.
, LGA Chairman,
said:
"Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the
Government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building
regulations. We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry
or coroner’s report before this review is started. We have to act
based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the
building regulations again in the future if any additional
lessons need to be learned.
"There is complexity and confusion in the current system
that must be addressed and local government must play a
central role in this review from the outset. The review needs to
consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the
building regulations and the associated documents supporting
them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding
and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the
building control, fire safety and planning regimes
interact.
"Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents
are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that
entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be
fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of
the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed
changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that
we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen
as soon as possible.
“We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment
(BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release
the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are
deemed commercially confidential. If the public are going to have
faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs
to be out in the open. It is no time for contractors or
manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the
public.
“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality
in the public interest to assist the Government and councils in
gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not
acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional
circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents,
but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”
