Housing Secretary Michael Gove has doubled down on the government’s commitment to require second stairs in high-rise residential buildings, reducing the proposed threshold from 30 meters to 18 metres.
In recent months, a number of contractors have stopped work on developments due to spin-off concerns a consultation with the government to demand second stairs in homes over 30 meters high.
Today (July 24), in a historic speech on housing, Gove announced that the government was not only committed to the policy, but that it should be applied to a lower height threshold than originally proposed.
He said: “[The government’s new] Long-term housing plan […] it builds on our current progress confirming the intention to impose second stairs on new residential buildings over 18 metres, following confirmation from expert bodies that support this threshold.”
Gove added that the measure “responds to the sector’s call for consistency and certainty”.
“This is a considered and gradual evolution of safety rules, which, when taken with our other fire safety measures and reforms, ensures the safety of people in all tall buildings, both new and existing,” he said.
However, Gove added that the Department for Housing, Housing and Communities would “work swiftly” with industry and regulators to design transitional arrangements.
These, he said, would have “the objective of ensuring the viability of the projects that are already underway, avoiding delays where there are other more appropriate mitigations”.
The Government has confirmed its intention to impose second staircases on new residential buildings of more than 18 m.
However, it is clear that this new regulation cannot jeopardize housing supply by disrupting schemes that have been planned for years: https://t.co/VR3HpLMjDN
— Build UK (@BuildUK) July 24, 2023
In May, Construction news reported that Wates had stopped work on a skyscraper in Havering on what he called “continued regulatory uncertainty” over the two-staircase requirement on all new residential buildings over 30 metres.
He said: “As we are at an early point in the construction process, we have taken the opportunity to pause while we better understand what the new regulations will mean and update the design to include a second staircase.”
Last month, Willmott Dixon chief executive Rick Willmott warned that the schemes may be canceled due to “considerable uncertainty” about regulatory requirements around second stairs in high-rise blocks.
He said: “The implications of the Building Safety Act continue to be interpreted and there is considerable uncertainty about the evolution of the government’s regulatory position on high-rise residential construction, which will only lead to the postponement or cancellation of developments while the industry waits for clear and unambiguous regulation.”
The National Fire Chiefs Council, the Chartered Institute of Housing, councils, architects and disability advocates were among the groups that lobbied so that the threshold is reduced to 18 meters.
In February, London Mayor Sadiq Khan made second stairs a legal requirement for new tower blocks over 30 meters high in London.
Elsewhere in today’s speech, Gove said the government would bring in further planning reforms and provide an extra £24m to local authority planning departments, plus £14m for a new “super team” of experts to support large-scale development projects.
A new Cambridge Delivery Group, chaired by Homes England chairman Peter Freeman, will be set up to oversee the expansion of Cambridge with new homes, laboratories and retail space.
The government also announced plans to:
- A ‘Docklands 2.0’ vision in East London for up to 65,000 homes in a number of large sites including Thamesmead, Beckton and Silvertown.
- A commitment to work with local partners in Leeds city center to regenerate the city center and explore a West Yorkshire mass transport system.
- A new consultation on changes to permitted development rights to facilitate the conversion of larger department stores, shop floor space and office space into housing.
