The lack of a recommendation for sprinklers in Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety is ‘very disappointing’, according to a GLA committee.
Labour London Assembly member Navin Shah authored a London Assembly Planning Committee report calling for sprinklers to be mandatory in all new buildings above 18 metres in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Reacting to the publication today of Hackitt’s final report, Shah urged Hackitt to reconsider her decision not to make such a recommendation.
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He said: “It’s very disappointing that this review of building and fire regulations has not recommended sprinklers or other similar systems to be made mandatory in all buildings above 18 metres.
“The fire commissioner said introducing sprinklers in this way is a ‘no-brainer’, so it’s deeply concerning that the government continues to overlook the seriousness of this issue.
“The appalling tragedy of Grenfell must never happen again. This is a dangerous missed opportunity to ensure people can feel safe in their homes and I would urge a rapid rethink.”
The London Assembly Planning Committee’s previous report, Never Again: Sprinklers as the next step in fire safety, called for the government to develop a ‘road map’ with clear milestones to making automatic fire suppression systems (AFSS) compulsory in every residential building in England.
It also urged the government to amend Building Regulations to make installing AFSS in all new-build residential developments above 18 metres in height mandatory.
And it called on the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to create a £50m ‘London Sprinkler Retrofitting Fund’ to fund AFSS in 200 existing high-risk buildings over the next five years.
