Enhancing Fire Safety for Balconies in High-Rise Residential Buildings

Article Overview

This article discusses new regulations following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Key reforms include a Building Safety Regulator and amendments to Approved Document B, which lower the height threshold for fire safety and mandate fire-resistant materials for balconies in residential buildings over 11 meters to prevent fire spread. It also highlights fire-rated decking systems for balcony construction and remediation.

The Grenfell Tragedy – Regulatory Reforms

In line with recommendations made by the Hackitt review and the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the government made changes to the building regulations and to the rules and processes that govern the safety of buildings during design and construction. The government also introduced a new regime for higher-risk buildings during design, construction, and occupation and created a new, independent body – the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – to oversee the new regime.

Amendments to Approved Document B

Approved Document B underwent significant amendments in June 2022, which took effect from 1 December 2022, for projects in England. Projects that had already received initial notice from a local authority before this date and commenced building work or started within six months could follow the prior guidelines. These amendments are fundamentally linked to the Building Safety Act passed on 28 April 2022, including changes such as lowering the height threshold from 18m to 11m for certain regulations and expanding the scope to cover more building categories. The primary aim is to enhance fire safety, focusing on external fire spread.

New Requirements for Balconies

The new amendments introduce a dedicated section for balconies in Approved Document B, specifically addressing buildings with a residential purpose and a storey height of 11m or more. Balconies must now meet one of two sets of conditions: using materials that achieve specific fire performance classes (A1 or A2-s1, d0) or meeting detailed conditions regarding the use of certain non-combustible materials and configurations to ensure fire safety. Additionally, balconies must have an imperforate soffit and certain class A2-s1, d0 materials for the boundary areas.

Enhanced Fire Safety Regulations

The amendments have led to stricter regulations on materials used for constructing balconies and their components, emphasising fire safety. This change reflects a shift in the perception of balconies following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, now viewed as critical to preventing fire spread between apartments. The clarification provided by the Department for Levelling Up and Local Communities (DfLULC), now renamed as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, highlights the intention to prevent horizontal fire spread across balconies between apartments, ensuring higher safety standards in residential buildings.

High-Rise Balcony and Terrace Solutions

If you’ve got a project that requires remedial or remediation work, or if you’re designing a new build, our product range for high-rise balconies and terraces includes A1 and A2 fire-rated decking systems which help minimise the risk of fire spread and protect building occupants. Our attractive porcelain A1 Dura Deck Inspire planks are durable, non-porous, and fire resistant, and our A2 Dura Deck Aluminium is lightweight, strong, and can meet the requirements for positive drainage on balconies.

Our Specialists

Talk to our experienced team about how you can tap into our specialist knowledge and engineering capability for your project.