The first round of the NLA’s Technical EP was held during the early stages of the Grenfell inquiry.

The conclusion of the second round of the Technical EP coincides with the last module of the Grenfell Inquiry. After two and a half years the final module ended with tragic testimonies from survivors, and evidence from forensics experts on the last moments of the 72 victims. The inquiry report and coroner's judgement will to some extent bring closure to this tragic event.

A tangible outcome of the disaster is the Building Safety Act (BSA) which came into force in June, signalling a fundamental reform in the industry. The HSE has recently raised concerns that 50% of designs at the first planning gateway of the new safety regime are not adequate. This has played out in planning committees questioning the safety of single-core residential buildings.  Its clear that the industry still has some way to go to design for safety. 

Coincidentally, the first major post-Grenfell external wall system judgment was also concluded recently (Martlett Homes vs. Mullaley). This judgement now forms material guidance on the court's approach to issues affecting cladding disputes – and fire safety generally.

Hence the Technical EP panel for this second round continued to explore building safety, competence and skills as core themes. The panel members are representative of the broad industry, so we were able to more meaningfully tackle questions surrounding materials specification, health & safety, buildability and regulations from specialists in these fields. 

It was agreed that the BSA alone will not address the potential real-world challenges in implementing a new safety regime, let alone upgrades to the sustainable performance of buildings. Questions remain about qualified individuals to perform the new roles, access to insurance and how exactly should residents have meaningful involvement in building safety when the industry itself doesn’t seem geared up?

 

New London Agenda Policy Recommendations