The Local Government Association has become the latest body to call on government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of the Building Regulations.
Lord Porter, LGA chairman, said: “Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building regulations.
“We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry or coroner’s report before this review is started. We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned.
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“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset. The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.
“Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen as soon as possible.
“We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed commercially confidential. If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open. It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public.
“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality in the public interest to assist the Government and councils in gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents, but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”
The call comes as experts claim that the plastic core of the cladding used on Grenfell Tower could have burned as quickly as petrol.
The energy output from the burning building would have been equal to burning 51 tonnes of pinewood, research by the University of Leeds has suggested.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Roth Phylaktou, an expert in fire investigation at the university, said the cladding, combined with insulation, was “optimum for vertical fire spread”.
He told the broadcaster: “If you set that on fire near the bottom you can imagine what would happen and how fast the fire will grow.”
Before the blaze, Grenfell Tower had been recently refurbished with Reynobond PE cladding, consisting of Reynolux-coated aluminium sheets over a Reynobond polyethylene core.
Dr Phylaktou said: “The polyethylene in the cladding would have burnt as quickly as petrol.”
All buildings over 18 metres which have submitted cladding samples have failed combustibility tests rolled out after the fire, the Department for Communities and Local Government said on Tuesday.
In further developments:
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) council is to spend £20m on fire safety measures across its high-rise housing estate in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Measures being undertaken include free replacement of faulty appliances, safety checks for every high-rise council home, free fire door replacement and restoring concierge staff on certain estates, including Edward Woods.
It would also look at installing sprinklers in tower blocks “where this would help improve safety”.
Council leader Stephen Cowan said: “The fire in Kensington has made it clear that meeting minimum fire standards is not enough.
“The regulations are clearly not good enough so we will be going above and beyond what is required. We want our residents to know that we care deeply about their safety, we understand their concerns, and we will do everything it takes to keep them safe.”
Former government chief construction adviser Professor Peter Hansford has been appointed by the Institution of Civil Engineers to lead an independent review of the lessons for infrastructure professionals from the Grenfell Tower fire.
