Following on from our previous stories surrounding the work of the Scottish Government Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety, the group has recently shared its recommended changes, these being part of a number of actions for improving building and fire safety which were agreed on the 6th December by the Ministerial Working Group, set up following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. These include:
- An additional key change in building standards will be to reduce the height from 18m to 11m and extend the range of new buildings for the use of non-combustible cladding.
- Extending mandatory installation of sprinklers in flatted accommodation and in larger multi-occupancy dwellings and those which provide care.
- Measures to improve evacuation, using sound alerts and two escape stairs in all new high rise residential buildings.
- Developing a new documented compliance plan for high risk buildings to be prepared and maintained by the owner or developer – from pre-application to completion. This will set out the verifier planned inspection regime.
- Strengthening enforcement guidance.
- Development of a database to capture and maintain safety critical information for existing high rise residential buildings.
- Specific fire safety guidance to residents of high rise domestic buildings and the introduction of guidance for fire risk assessments.
These are in addition to the new minimum standard for smoke and fire alarms, extending the existing high standard currently required in private rented housing to all homes. The new standard will come into force from February 2021.
For the full story, please visit here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/report-review-panel-building-standards-fire-safety-scotland/pages/1/
And to read the full findings of the Review Panel on Building Standards (Fire Safety) in Scotland, please visit here: https://www.gov.scot/news/building-and-fire-safety-5/
