Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented: “The government housing carousel continues to turn as yet another one bites the dust and it remains to be seen if there will be further casualties further down the ranks. Michael Gove is known as a Whitehall big hitter with a
The end of July marked the second reading of the Building Safety Bill in the House of Commons. There were a number of new items and changes, which we are in the process of analysing. Highlights of the second reading: Jenrick stated that dwelling fires were at the lowest point
On 20 July 2021 the revised NPPF and the National Model Design Code were published. In addition, the Government formally launched the new Office for Place. The focus for the office will be to drive up design standards and support local communities to set their own design standards. This will
Shruti Trivedi, partner and head of planning at Roythornes Solicitors, comments on housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s planning proposals announced this morning following the Budget. She said: “The commitment being proposed by the government this morning should be welcome news for the industry, particularly in relation to the promise of significant additional funding to support the aims outlined by MP Robert Jenrick. “As with most cases however,
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed new commitments from the UK government to accelerate building safety improvements – and calls for “visible and tangible action” to now be taken. This week Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced new measures to improve building safety in the UK. The
Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented: “The government housing carousel continues to turn as yet another one bites the dust and it remains to be seen if there will be further casualties further down the ranks. Michael Gove is known as a Whitehall big hitter with a reputation for rocking the boat so we may well see some changes. However, the reality is probably more of the same tired, recycled rhetoric around housing policy. Expect to see more initiatives focussed on fuelling buyer demand to keep house prices buoyant and very little in terms of actually addressing the need for more housing. In recent times, those charged with addressing the current housing crisis have lasted less time in their post than it takes to sell a house. No wonder the sector has been riddled with scandal and an inability to reach housing targets.”
The end of July marked the second reading of the Building Safety Bill in the House of Commons. There were a number of new items and changes, which we are in the process of analysing. Highlights of the second reading: Jenrick stated that dwelling fires were at the lowest point since 1981 and expert guidance had five recommendations to correct the disproportionate reaction to safety in some parts of the market: EWS1 forms should not be a requirement on buildings below 18m. Where there are known concerns this should be addressed through risk management. All major lenders, including HSBC, welcomed the advice that EWS1 forms should not be a requirement on buildings below 18m. The new Building Safety Regulator would have the powers to enforce the rules set out by the new framework. All buildings would have an individual that is accountable and responsible for safety, and non-compliance would be a criminal offence. Whilst also being able to tackle bad practice, the Bill will have the ability to remove construction products that were unsafe from the market The Bill will strengthen redress for people who were buying a new build home through provisions for the New Homes Ombudsman, who will resolve complaints between buyers and developers. He reaffirmed the commitment in the Bill which will retrospectively extend the period in which compensation can be claimed for defective premises from 6 to 15 years. The scope of the work for which compensation can be claimed will also be expanded to include future major renovation work. He stated that he hoped builders, in time, would extend their warranty for this period. He forecasted that over 1,000 buildings with non-ACM unsafe cladding will receive support through the Building Safety Fund. 5 recommendations within the speech that government will support and act upon: EWS1 forms should not be a requirement on buildings below 18 metres. In the small number of cases where there are known to be concerns these should be addressed primarily through risk management and mitigation. There should be a clear route for residents/leaseholders to challenge costly remediation work and seek assurance that proposals are proportionate and cost effective. Government should work with the shadow Building Safety Regulator to consider how to implement an audit process to check that fire risk assessments are following guidelines, not perpetuating the risk aversion we are witnessing, in some instances, at the present time. Fire risk assessors, and lenders should not presume that there is significant risk to life unless there is evidence to support this. This would ensure that they respond only to the evidence and adopt a far more proportionate and balanced approach. It was confirmed that the building safety fund will re-open for registrations in the Autumn 2021 – we will notify our members when registration is open. Please also note that the we will be sending out updated RICS guidance regarding EWS1 forms when it has been published. The Bill will now enter its Committee Stage when Parliament returns in September, we will ensure members are kept up to date with the passage of this Bill at all times. Click here to read the full written statement to Parliament.
On 20 July 2021 the revised NPPF and the National Model Design Code were published. In addition, the Government formally launched the new Office for Place. The focus for the office will be to drive up design standards and support local communities to set their own design standards. This will be headed by Nicholas Boys Smith alongside a panel of twelve expert advisors. The think tank, Policy Exchange, hosted an event on Building Better Building Beautiful, with Robert Jenrick MP Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, Nicholas Boys Smith, Chair of Transition Board, Office for Place and Joanna Avery, Chief Planner for MGCLG. Following the publication of Building Better Building Beautiful two years ago the event on the 20th July focused on how the initiatives are being rolled out and implemented to deliver this vision. Community Involvement: co-design in a digital age The Office for Place will be responsible for the ‘Evolving Science of Place’, creating the tools, processes and tests to support beautiful places. A big focus will be on community involvement, asking communities what they like and how they wish to live. We are likely to see a move from light touch engagement to community co-design at key stages of the process. We imagine that digital platforms and visualisation, using software such as Vu.City, are likely to play a key role in truly engaging people. Cultural change: revolution or evolution? A key role of the Office for Place will be supporting the early pilot projects for the National Model Design Code. Fourteen are already being progressed and applications for ten more pilots open today. The implementation of the new Model Design Code requires a significant culture change in our ways of working and the institutional approach to the built environment. Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing and Communities, described it as a ‘generational change’. Jenrick went further, challenging the development status quo and suggesting that the changes will take power out of the hands of the big developers, giving less airtime for the consultants and the lawyers and more air time for local people. The future: more sustainable and more beautiful? Over the last two years there has been a lot of debate on beauty and the quality of our built environment. The approach to this is strengthened through the commitment to well designed, beautiful and more sustainable developments in the revised NPPF. There are many challenges to come. As an industry we have to take up the challenge to deliver new communities which leave a positive and long-lasting legacy.
Shruti Trivedi, partner and head of planning at Roythornes Solicitors, comments on housing secretary Robert Jenrick’s planning proposals announced this morning following the Budget. She said: “The commitment being proposed by the government this morning should be welcome news for the industry, particularly in relation to the promise of significant additional funding to support the aims outlined by MP Robert Jenrick. “As with most cases however, the devil is in the detail. It will therefore be interesting to see if the promises and aspirations, such as the deadlines for local plans being put in place and ensuring greater transparency over land ownership, are met in practice with tangible legislation or a regulatory framework that can be legitimately monitored and enforced. “Measures such as working within the permitted development rights regime have historically been put to good use and so those provisions – at the very least – should be welcomed by many as having realistic prospects of being successful. “In any event, we will have to carefully monitor developments to see what changes are forthcoming and to be proactive and quick to capitalise on opportunities that will benefit our clients.”
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has welcomed new commitments from the UK government to accelerate building safety improvements – and calls for “visible and tangible action” to now be taken. This week Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced new measures to improve building safety in the UK. The announcement includes the immediate establishment of a new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as well as a proposal to extend the existing combustible cladding ban and accelerate its removal from buildings across the country. Richard Jones, Head of Policy and Regulatory Engagement at IOSH, said: “While it’s positive to hear the new government declare it won’t tolerate the slow pace of improvement to building safety in the UK, which IOSH and others have raised concern over, we now need to see visible and tangible action, with these announcements just the start of an extensive and active delivery-programme. “Working with the HSE will be reassuring for many, given it’s a world-class regulator that secures near universal praise nationally. It has successful experience of co-regulation, as well as of operating permissioning and safety-case regimes and enforcing the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, so should be ideally placed for such a role. However, it will be vital that it’s properly resourced for taking on this substantial additional responsibility and workload for this new regime, which we understand will be fully chargeable. “In IOSH’s response to the combustible cladding ban consultation, we emphasised the need to remove it from all high-rises in both residential and non-residential buildings. We are pleased that the government is now reconsidering its position and have clarified its guidance for building-owners. “We also look forward to further government action on sprinkler requirements and to the Fire Safety Bill and its clarification of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.” Last month, IOSH urged the government to “get health and safety done” and pushed for urgent progress on all the key occupational safety and health public-policy areas, including national ‘post-Grenfell’ reforms on building regulation and fire safety. Last month, IOSH urged the government to “get health and safety done” and pushed for urgent progress on all the key occupational safety and health public-policy areas, including national ‘post-Grenfell’ reforms on building regulation and fire safety.
