03 Jun Specific cladding used on Grenfell Tower banned on all new buildings in England
The type of cladding used on the Grenfell tower has now been banned on all future buildings built in England. The ban comes in just before the five year anniversary of the blaze in which 72 people died.
Metal composite material panels with unmodified polyethylene core are now banned on all new buildings of any height in England. The combustible cladding was used on the outside of Grenfell Tower, which accelerated the fire when it broke out on June 14 2017. The material was previously banned but only applied to buildings higher than 11 metres.
The government also announced that it will restrict the types of cladding material used on buildings between 11m and 18m in height, to prevent their construction with combustible materials.
Housing Minister Lord Greenhalgh said: “We have introduced the biggest improvements to building safety in a generation, under the Building Safety Act.
“These changes will support our tough new regulatory regime — ensuring fire safety measures are incorporated into new high-rise homes and all new residential buildings meet the same safety standards.
“It does not end here and I urge the industry act quickly to update their practices in line with these new rules.”
Under the measures announced by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, all new residential buildings over 11 metres will also have to include a secure information box that will give fire services access to important details about a building in the event of a fire.
Additionally, new residential developments over 18m will be required to incorporate an evacuation alert system to help firefighters inform residents of a change in evacuation strategy mid-incident.