Hywel Davies OBE reflects on 'tsunami' of announcements and consultations

Hywel Davies OBE, CABE Head of Technical Insight, works to inform and influence policy, standards and guidance in the profession – here’s what that means for members.

This spring brought a tsunami of announcements and consultations. The Future Homes and Future Buildings Standards landed, with several associated publications. Part L now requires renewable generation in almost all new homes and is renamed Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In England, there are new Approved Documents (ADs) L1 and L2 and also ADF. There are changes to the national calculation methodologies for energy performance, with formal approval of SAP 10.3 and the NCM 2026 methodology.

Proposals to amend Approved Document B

Featured are also at least five distinct consultation packages,  for construction products, new requirements for approval of plans for all new houses and improving proportionality and building safety outcomes in Category A and B HRB (higher-risk building) work, in England. There is a call for evidence on self certification of compliance of building work, which may be of particular interest to members. And in England, there’s the next round of proposed changes to ADB. This is a major item.

The consultation proposes technical clarifications across structural terminology, including cavities and roofs. There is clearer guidance on balconies and reorganised guidance for smoke ventilation. It is a package of eight main policy changes across ADB1 (homes) and ADB2 (other buildings). 

The most significant proposals are an 11m threshold for restrictions on combustible structural elements; a significant redraft of external wall and balcony guidance; a new recommendation for two stairs and two evacuation lifts in HRBs; new terminology; and expectations for provision of alarms for specialised housing. Additional guidance covers roofs and photovoltaic installations (mandated for many new homes) including separation distances and higher fire-resistance standards for open-sided car parks.

There are several wholly new concepts and not just incremental edits, which cover evacuation lift lobbies and shafts, interlocked stairs and specialised housing with and without care. There are explicit restrictions on the use of combustible structural elements linked to height.

Other changes in the works

New text explains that building work in existing buildings must comply with the relevant requirements, including regulation 4(3) of the Building Regulations in England on non-worsening. Refurbishment proposals must take account of the broader effect on existing fire-safety measures and the impact of the proposed work on the fire risk assessment, fire strategy and the fire-safety management plan for the building. 

There is a full revision of section 10 dealing with guidance on the whole external wall system. It separates ‘envelopment’ and ‘exposure’ hazards, aligns height measurements, replaces some deemed-to-satisfy wording with performance classification and proposes related changes to balconies and laminated-glass balustrades. It updates the approach to single-storey buildings. The concept of sheltered housing is replaced with specialised housing. 

This is a major rewrite, and several members are busy reviewing it, as well as the other consultations currently ongoing. 

Scotland

I’ve discussed activity in England that will no doubt feed through to Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland however, published updated Technical Handbooks in April. Notable are the building standards revisions to sections 0 (general), 3 (environment) and 4 (safety) as well as those to section 2 (fire), which enact Simon and Richard’s Law providing extended guidance on conversions of traditionally constructed buildings, materials used to limit spread of fire, fire escape and automatic fire suppression systems. Read it at b.link/SGOV_buildingstandards

Share your thoughts with CABE

If you have comments on the ADB draft, you are welcome to contribute by emailing [email protected]. Please tell us what you like, as well as suggestions to improve the parts that need further work. Your thoughts on other consultations are equally welcome – please be clear on which proposals you are referring to, with the consultation title in the subject line. Thank you.