Consultation proposal on changes to Approved Document B

Consultation proposal on changes to Approved Document B

A consultation proposal on changes to Approved Document B was opened by HSE on Wednesday 25 March. Within the scope of this consultation is a proposal to ‘revise and update guidance on external wall systems and balconies and review the scope of the ban on combustible materials in and on external walls.’

This will be of particular interest to those members that have been following developments concerning the effective ban on the use of laminated glass in the balustrades of balconies on relevant buildings since it was introduced in 2018, along with other technical changes in guidance since then, and follows closely on from the publication of the final report CPD 004/0120/205 entitled  ‘Fire safety: Balconies, spandrels, and laminated glass’ which we saw published just before Christmas and discussed at recent technical group meetings.

The report is the culmination of research and analysis on behalf of the Building Safety Regulator into the fire safety impact of balcony design, and the use of laminated glass and spandrel zones on external walls of buildings. The study was carried out by a consortium of partners led by OFR Consultants, together with Efectis, UCL and University of Edinburgh, with external oversight provided by an Expert Review Panel consisting of stakeholders from various public and private organisations.

The researchers examined mechanisms of fire spread between balconies on multistorey residential buildings and analysed performance of laminated glass used as balcony balustrades. The study also explored reaction to fire performance of vertical laminated glass panels and the role of the spandrel zone in relation to fire safety.

Whilst the report does acknowledge the importance of balconies in the overall scheme of residential buildings, in providing access to outdoor space and amenity etc. and that it isn’t solely about examining fire performance, it does approach it from the basis of assessing fire spread and how balcony design and construction influences that.

When it comes to laminated glass, it provides policy options available, but it does not make recommendations on these.

The report findings instead aim to provide the data to inform government of what implications exist when considering the options for policy change. The HSE consultation proposal of Wednesday 25 March is the result of the research underpinning the continuous review of Approved Document B and the report findings and now lays out the intent of policy change to amend the current guidance on balconies in all buildings. This involves proposing recommendations in the guidance and, importantly for us, ‘an exemption to the ban correspondingly to allow the use of laminated glass balustrades of certain dimensions and characteristics.’

The details are still being examined but it is clearly an important consultation and one which the GGF will be responding to, it closes on Wednesday 1 July. The GGF Consultation Response Group will be coordinating the response and members are invited to share their views and to respond directly themselves.

Review of Approved Document B: Fire Safety – Health and Safety Executive – Citizen Space