Civic chiefs have green lit a new policy which is aimed at improving fire safety in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster , meaning that planning bosses and developers will now have to speak to Hampshire Fire and Rescue on every single application for high rise buildings in Southampton, UK.
As well as this, any new plans for hotels, NHS budilings, student accommodations and new schools will all have to be approved by fire chiefs before anything can take place.
The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that at least 67 people perished following the Grenfell Tower disaster in June, where a fire, which started from a faulty fridge, flew up the cladding and took over the whole building.
Councillors agreed with the proposals to include fire chiefs in the city council’s planning process in unanimous fashion.
This was put into motion by Labour councillor Sharon Mintoff, who claimed that while fire services are fully entitled to submit their thoughts on proposals, under national planning law, they’re not statutory consultees.
