David Strong, former managing director of BRE, has called for complete reform of the Building Regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire as a retired court of appeal judge has been named to head up the public inquiry into the disaster.
In a letter published in The Times, Strong said it was not austerity that caused the fire, but a “fundamental market failure resulting from Building Control bodies competing with each other to deliver enforcement with the lightest possible touch”.
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As prime minister Theresa May confirmed yesterday that 120 tower blocks in 37 English authorities had failed fire safety tests, Strong asked how Grenfell Tower could have been issued with a completion certificate if the cladding did not comply with regulations.
“The introduction of competition between Building Control bodies has led to increasingly poor enforcement and a race to the bottom.”
David Strong
Competition and market forces had driven a deadly drop in standards, he said, adding that completion certificates should guarantee that the work and material used were consistent with the regulations.
“However, the introduction of competition between Building Control bodies has led to increasingly poor enforcement and a race to the bottom,” he wrote.
“Nothing short of a root-and-branch review of Building Control is required, to ensure that our buildings are safe and fit for purpose.”
On Wednesday evening May also named retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick to lead the public inquiry into the fire disaster.
Moore-Bick will work with complete independence from the government, and he will be supported by civil servants seconded from government departments.
His appointment comes as at least 80 people are now believed to have died after the fire, most of them from just 23 of the 129 flats in the building. This number is still expected to rise further.
Separate to the independent inquiry, communities secretary Sajid Javid also announced a new independent expert advisory panel to advise on any immediate measures that can be put in place to make buildings safer following the disaster.
The expert panel will look at any immediate action that is required so the public can be confident everything possible is being done to make all public and private buildings safe as quickly as possible.
It will be made up of a range of building and fire safety experts, and will be chaired by Sir Ken Knight, former London Fire Commissioner and former government Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.
Other core members of the panel will be Peter Bonfield, chief executive of BRE, Roy Wilsher, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council and Amanda Clack, EY partner and president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It is intended that a first meeting of the panel will take place this week.
