Propertymark wants additional health and safety cladding measures

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark says one of the UK governments should go further in ensuring the safety of tenants and owners in tower blocks.

The call comes in Propertymark’s response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on combustible cladding and fire safety amendments which has taken place as a result of the 2017 Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Amendments were made to building regulations following a consultation that began in 2018 on stopping the use of combustible materials in the external walls of high-rise residential buildings, which the Welsh government’s latest consultation on building and fire safety builds upon.

This consultation concerns the changes implemented via the first consultation, which impacted buildings that were approximately 18 metres in height, but hostels, hotels and boarding houses were left out.

The new proposals consider a variety of new materials to be covered by the ban, expanding the types of buildings covered, and including buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height.

Propertymark backs the proposals in the consultation, but also wants the Welsh Government to cut the number of fire safety risks to residents by adopting additional precautions - for example, saying existing flats must be covered by the proposals alongside new ones; and including buildings below 11 metres, which are now excluded from the proposals.

Henry Griffith, policy and campaigns officer at Propertymark, says: “In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower Fire, it has been clear to Propertymark that new regulations have been necessary to help prevent further loss of life and improve the safety of high-risk buildings. It is therefore positive to see that the Welsh government is considering expanding the number of properties that will be covered by new building safety requirements. However, while this is a positive step, it vitally important that all flats and other high-risk buildings are covered by the new proposals introduced by the Welsh government not just new properties.”