Planning Gateway One - How we assess planning applications

Most planners will not be familiar with the fire standards and guidance that HSE use to assess planning applications. They are primarily used at the building control stage by building inspectors, architects, fire engineers and structural engineers to design buildings and assess building regulations applications. A range of national and international design guidance can be used by designers but, in general, the standards and guidance referred to below are used by designers as a reference point or benchmark.

These documents set the required standards and provide guidance that affect land use planning considerations such as the form, massing, layout, landscaping, use, access, provision of car and cycle parking and appearance of development. Individually or in combination, these matters can affect the space available for and configuration of dwellings in a development. Developments that include relevant buildings can contain a mix of uses, in addition to residential units or educational accommodation. This will affect how HSE assesses the development. A variety of standards or guidance may be applicable and HSE will consider how they work together holistically.

There are limited examples of planning policies that deal specifically with fire safety standards, for example, in the London Plan. However, HSE is a national regulator covering England and it is not our role to assess planning applications to determine compliance with local planning policy. This is because fire safety design is life-critical and must be applied uniformly across England, regardless of local circumstances such as environmental or socioeconomic conditions.

Local planning authorities may have local plan policies about good design in the built environment or a policy to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of residents and occupiers. These can be used to determine planning applications in the context of considering advice from HSE on fire safety matters. In addition, Planning Practice Guidance is a material planning consideration and contains a section on fire safety and high-rise residential buildings.

The following sections explain the most commonly used fire standards and guidance but is not exhaustive. Standards and guidance relevant to fire safety are produced by a range of national and international organisations.

BSI Fire standards

Fire Standards are produced by the BSI, which is a private company established by a Royal Charter to set operational and design standards for British industry, to promote safety and a level playing field. As BSI is a private company, there is a charge to obtain a paper copy or for online access to the documents.

There are range of British Standards related to fire safety design in buildings. The standards used most frequently by developers of relevant buildings are:

• BS 9991 – Fire safety for the design, management and use of residential buildings
• BS9999 – Fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings
• BS7974 – Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings, including Published Documents 1-7

The standards make recommendations and provide guidance for different aspects of fire safety design relevant to planning. For example, how firefighting shafts should be designed in buildings, the distance between a flat and means of escape, the proximity of buildings and boundaries, access for fire appliances and the combustibility of materials used on external walls. Fully following a BSI standard may not satisfy building regulations for tall and complex buildings.

Fire standards are adopted following a period of public consultation, similar to a local plan.

To avoid repetition and promote consistency of approach, the fire standards will sometimes cross-refer to each other. It is also common for more than one fire standard to be used in a design, e.g., in in mixed use developments with residential and commercial uses.

Approved Documents

Approved Documents are prepared by Government and provide statutory guidance about how the functional requirements of the building regulations can be met covering a range of building types and topics. Visit the Approved Documents section on the Planning Portal¹. 

Approved Documents are updated regularly and go through a process of public consultation before they are adopted.

The Approved Document most frequently used by developers of relevant buildings is Approved Document B Volume 1 – Fire safety: Dwellings (ADBv.1)²

ADBv.1 is recommended for use in “common building situations”. Therefore, fully following the guidance may not satisfy building regulations for a tall and complex building. If it is used by an applicant as the only design standard applied to the development, HSE will assess the design against Approved Document B. However, HSE will also draw attention to the need for the applicant to demonstrate how the use of the standard meets the functional requirements of the building regulations, at the building regulations application stage. This advice will be provided as supplementary information, rather than as a concern.

At the planning stage, it is not for HSE to determine compliance with building regulations, therefore, the appropriateness and use of ABDv1 for particular buildings is not a material planning consideration. If it is determined that the wrong design standard has been used at the building regulations application stage, then any subsequent design changes arising from the application of new or different design standard(s) may result in the need to make a new planning application. In such circumstances, a LPA may consult HSE (Planning Gateway One) on the new planning application.

1. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/applications/building-control-applications/building-control/approved-documents
2. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/applications/building-control-applications/building-control/approved-documents/part-b-fire-safety/approved-document-b-volume-1-dwellings