BSRIA Building Regulations Guidance: The Second Staircase

Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, numerous changes have been made to Building Regulations and the wider legislative framework for fire safety in buildings.

Part B of the Building Regulations contains various legal requirements relating to fire safety in buildings. In England, it is supported by guidance in Approved Document B, which is published in two volumes: Volume 1 for dwellings and Volume 2 for non-dwellings.

On 29th March 2024, changes were announced to both volumes of Approved Document B. They were announced in the form of an amendment note, because it will be quite some time before they actually take effect.

The major change is to Volume 1, with new guidance stating that blocks of flats more than 18 m high should have two escape stairs, whereas currently one escape stair is acceptable. This is different from the requirement which came into effect in Greater London in 2023, that planning applications for all buildings (not just residential buildings) over 30 m high include two escape stairs.

Whenever changes are made to Building Regulations or supporting guidance, transitional arrangements are announced. What is unusual this time round is the length of the transition. Basically, the old guidance can be followed as long as a Building Regulations application is made before 30th September 2026, and work starts before 30th March 2028. This is to take into account the extensive design and planning process needed for major projects, and the fundamental rethink that will be needed on new high-rise residential schemes. But it does mean that someone moving into a brand-new tenth-storey flat in 2030 might be in moving into a block with only one escape stair.

It should be noted that the changes are to the guidance, not the Building Regulations themselves. The overarching (some would say vague) legal requirements for fire safety in Part B of the Building Regulations have remained unchanged for a number of years. So, theoretically, it would be legal to construct a block of flats over 18 m high with a single escape stair even after the transition period is over. But as any such building would be classified as a relevant building, it would be subject to checks by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) at Planning Gateway One (PGO). Even for a PGO application made today, the BSR would consider a range of fire safety issues including the number of escape stairs. Also, such a building would also be classified as a higher-risk building, so the building control body would be the BSR, who would need to approve the building before construction starts (Gateway Two) and again at completion (Gateway Three).

The amendment note, together with the current Part B Approved Documents, can be downloaded from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b.

A BSRIA topic guide, giving a brief overview of Building Regulations, can be downloaded here.

BSRIA runs training courses on Building Regulations. More information can be found here.

This article appears on the BSRIA news and blog site as 'New Building Regulations Guidance: The Second Staircase' April 2024.

--BSRIA

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