Fire safety experts to be questioned at City Hall

15 MARCH 2010

As part of its review of fire safety regulations, the London Assembly will tomorrow question a range of experts to assess the scale of potential fire risks in London’s tall[1] and timber-framed buildings.

At tomorrow’s hearing the Assembly’s Planning and Housing Committee will set out to establish a number of issues, including:

  • the current situation and future projections for the number of tall and timber-framed buildings in London;
  • the different risks associated with timber-framed and tall buildings during construction, occupation and subsequent modification; and
  • whether fire safety guidance and the inspection regime is keeping pace with changing trends in design and construction techniques.

The Committee will question the following guests. 

  • Ron Dobson, Commissioner, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)
  • Geoff Arnold, Chairman, UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA)
  • Sam Webb, Architect, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
  • Paul Everall, Chief Executive, Local Authority Building Control (LABC)
  • Richard Biggs , Operations Director, Construction Industry Council (CIC)

The Assembly’s Planning and Housing Committee is reviewing building regulations, planning policies, the Mayor’s London Plan and other guidance to assess how fire safety rules might be tightened to make buildings safer, both during and after construction.

The review is concentrating on residential buildings in London, covering the distinctive fire safety aspects of both tall buildings that are already occupied and timber-framed buildings, particularly during the construction phase[2].

The Planning and Housing Committee meeting will take place on Tuesday, 16 March from 10am in Committee Room 5 at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).  

Media and members of the public are invited to attend.   The meeting can also be viewed via webcast at: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts

Notes for Editors:

  1. Five storeys and above.
  2. There have been at least two fires on sites where timber-framed buildings were under construction in recent months: November 2009, Carisbrooke Gardens, Peckham; January 2010, Camberwell Station Road.  Fire safety in tall buildings is particularly relevant in the capital: sixteen of the 19 boroughs in the UK where more than two per cent of the population live on the fifth floor or higher are in London.  Almost five per cent of Inner London residents - almost 129,000 people - already live above the fifth floor; in Westminster and Tower Hamlets this figure rises to around nine per cent.  (2001 Census data).  The London Fire Brigade report that in 2009 14.3 per cent of fires (1,035 fires) happened above 3 floors – 92 fires were on the 10th floor or above. 
  3. Full agenda papers for the meeting on 16 March are available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/committees/planning-housing/planning-committee-16-march-2010
  4. The Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, Jenny Jones AM, is available for interview.  See contact details below.
  5. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

 For media enquiries, please contact Dana Gavin on 020 7983 4603/5769.  For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer.  Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.