The Royal
Association of British Architects has welcomed the various proposals set out in
the Queen's Speech, but urged the Government to continue to listen to the
industry.
Plans have been
announced by the Government during the Queen's Speech to help home-buyers and
renters, devolve power and funding to communities and improve building safety.
In the biggest
change to building safety laws for 40 years, the government will take forward
the recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building
regulations and fire safety through a new Building Safety Bill.
RIBA President, Alan
Jones, said: “The Queen’s Speech outlines a substantial programme of actions
and emphasises the scale of the challenges facing the country: not least in
tackling the housing crisis, dealing with the climate emergency and moving
forward with Brexit.
"The RIBA will
continue to encourage government to draw on the expertise of architects to
address these vital issues.
"We await more
detail on the new fire safety Bills outlined. New legislation must take a
holistic view of the issues and urgently introduce clear and robust
regulations. We have been clear that action is long overdue: England continues
to lag behind other countries in the UK and across the world on fire safety,
putting lives at risk.
"We welcome the
commitment to tackling the lack of resourcing in planning departments. The RIBA
has long campaigned for this, and we look forward to working with government
nationally and locally to ensure that new resourcing meets the challenge of the
housing crisis and reflects the broad range of professional expertise required
to deliver high quality buildings, places and communities.”
RIBA has also
welcomed moves by the Welsh government to ban of combustible cladding on high
rise buildings in Wales.
Ryan Stuckey,
President of Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW), said: “This
legislation announced is welcome. However, following further recent serious
fires in England, the Welsh government should consider a lower height threshold
for this ban, applying it to all buildings above 11m in height.
"Wales has led
the way in fire safety building regulations with requirements for sprinklers,
and should continue to show leadership in relation to combustible
materials."
Jane Duncan, Chair
of the RIBA’s Expert Advisory Group on Fire Safety, described the move as a
"step in the right direction", alongside the existing requirement for
all new and converted homes in Wales to have sprinklers installed, and demonstrates
a commitment by the Welsh government to enhancing fire safety regulations.
"However, there
is still more to do to ensure buildings are as safe as possible and RIBA would
like to see this regulation applied to all buildings, including schools and
hostels, which house vulnerable people or are multi occupied,” she added.
