Evacuation lifts must be included in all new high-rise buildings under mayor’s new draft guidance
Developers must ensure that evacuation lifts are included in the designs of all new high rises across London in a bid to improve evacuation routes for residents, according to new proposals put forward by mayor Sadiq Khan.
The mayor of London revealed that as part of new guidance aimed at improving fire safety in buildings across the capital, he wanted evacuation lifts and the space and measures required for them to operate included in all future developments.
He said would ensure that all residents can “escape a building with dignity” in the event of a fire.
Requirements to include lifts are part of a raft of new proposals that will make up part of Mr Khan’s new London Plan, which sets out the mayor’s guidance for development across the city. It is currently out for public consultation until June.
The new plan will aim to ensure that fire safety and evacuation measures are identified at the planning application stage and can be referred to in each subsequent stage of the development process.
Competent fire safety experts should also be involved at the earliest stage of the design process and developers must demonstrate that their schemes can be constructed and occupied safely with regards to the highest standards of fire safety, in a way that will not impact neighbouring buildings.
To ensure this, the design of a development needs to consider fire safety and the safe and dignified evacuation for all from the outset. This includes where a fire engine will park in the event of fire, whether there is a safe and accessible evacuation route for occupants and what fire safety measures will be incorporated into the building.
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Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt’s review recommended a “new regulatory regime” for tower blocks. Within this, she also called for minimum requirements around fire safety being part of planning application decisions.
During the Grenfell Inquiry, lawyers of the bereaved and survivors group labelled the fire a “landmark act of discrimination against disabled and vulnerable people”. They said there was a failure to identify or plan for residents of the tower who would struggle to evacuate, highlighting that 41% of the vulnerable residents of the tower died.
In a release, Mr Khan said he has repeatedly highlighted how the fire safety requirements in existing national building regulations are not fit for purpose and that the progress of reform is too slow.
He added: “The current building safety situation is a scandal, and I am concerned that almost five years after the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, it appears that the government are still not willing to properly address it.
“That’s why I’ve been using all the tools at my disposal to raise the standard of fire safety measures in London. This draft guidance goes even further and will ensure fire safety is embedded in the earliest stage of the design process.”
Greg Ashman, deputy assistant commissioner for fire safety at the London Fire Brigade, said: “We still need to see a culture change when it comes to fire safety in all buildings, and we believe this guidance will influence the overall safety of London’s buildings in the future.”
The consultation on the draft guidance will run until 20 June.
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