It’s hard to believe that almost four years have passed since the tragedy at Grenfell Tower which prompted the Hackitt Review. The review aims to examine building regulations, specifically relating to fire safety in higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs). Regulatory reform continues its slow journey towards parliamentary approval.
We saw progress when the Building Safety Bill (Bill CP 264) was published in draft in July 2020.
Interestingly, the first drafts of the Bill did not specifically identify student accommodation as an HRRB. The latest version clearly states that student accommodation is included in the classification as long as it meets the additional building height criteria.
The height condition makes the legislation applicable to buildings in excess of six storeys (excluding below-ground storeys).
It’s reassuring to see that student accommodation has been clearly identified, but I believe the definition should change again, and soon. Clause 230 in the Bill does highlight the need to adjust the definition of HRRBs quickly in the future and I think the height specification should be reconsidered. Here’s why.
The demand for student accommodation is rising and has been for some time. The UK Student Accommodation Report 2019/20 published by Cushman and Wakefield reports “another strong year for the UK student accommodation market, with demand growth continuing to outstrip supply at a national level …”. The report goes on to report a 32% market growth between 2013 and 2019 for purpose-built accommodation.
While some new developments will be undoubtably be high-rise and therefore covered by the legislation, there are many others which either already exist, or are planned, which are lower-level buildings. Planning consent is a contributing factor, with local authorities demanding new construction projects be sensitive to the existing landscape. Take the development planned in Manchester’s Victoria Park Conservation Area as an example; sensitivity to the locale is essential and domestic-scale buildings are on their agenda.
There are currently over 650,000 student accommodation beds across the country, not all of which would qualify under the revised criteria. Should students living in lower-level accommodation accept a lower standard of fire safety? I’m sure you would agree they should not.
As my teams are working daily to identify and test fire dampers across student accommodation blocks, I know for a fact that these essential life-saving fire-safety devices are present in most buildings, regardless of their height.
I will continue to liaise with colleagues in the industry to raise awareness of what I believe are shortcomings in the current proposed Bill.
