Second staircase rule in London leads to delays
All new residential buildings in London over 30m tall will now need two staircases, the mayor’s office announced back in 10th February 2023, following an announcement by Michael Gove
All new residential buildings in London over 30m tall will now need two staircases, the mayor’s office announced back in 10th February 2023, following an announcement by Michael Gove. It applied to all new developments of 10 stories (30 metres plus) or more in London. Its impact is now having knock-on effects (I read over the weekend) with delays of nine months appearing to be the average.
Single-stair fire escapes came under the spotlight after the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017, in which 72 people died, with 74 injured in the 24 storey block.
Last week, housebuilder Hill announced it had taken four major residential schemes back to the drawing board due to second staircase requirements.
There is no doubt that the structural change is welcome as Suzannah Nichol, chief executive of Build UK to Building:
“If you had the choice, would you choose to live at the top of a 30m block with just one staircase?”
The answer is probably no, of course.
It remains to be seen too whether a second lift rule will come into play in the near future, possibly adding to further delays in residential construction?
This second staircase provision has provoked both support and some criticism.
Simon Robins, architect at Make Architects states:
'Legislation makes a real difference to progress meaningful change and we’re strongly behind this mandate for dual stairs, particularly in tall residential buildings. Of course there are additional options developers could consider to further advance design and safety in this sector which shouldn’t be precluded just because of this mandate.'
But Mary-Anne Bowring, managing director at residential property group Ringley Group, said some developers would be ‘seething’ at the need to redesign schemes about to go into planning in spite of the importance of fire regulations.
‘Developers in the middle of the planning process will be seething at the prospect of going back to square one and the implications of that will be felt on the supply of new homes in the midst of a housing crisis.There is also a real risk that other fundamental safety measures like sprinkler systems, fire doors and equipment maintenance might take a back seat if the building of a second staircase means developers start taking their eye off the detail ball.'
Not only will there be delays but there are predictions that as many as 243 construction projects could be cancelled with the loss of 125,000 homes. Read more below.
What are your thoughts on the second staircase delays, potential for second lifts and even a debate on lowering the 30 metre threshold to 18 metres?
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