‘I have proposed the motion to have Havering’s building safety rules stricter than what the government is proposing’-Romford Councillor’s bid to stop another Grenfell.

‘If this is the future that our council leaders want, eliminating all our car parks to build tower-blocks, then I think we need to set London’s toughest building safety standards.‘

Romford councillor David Taylor has tabled a motion to be debated this week to ask Havering Councillors to set tougher building safety rules. He writes:

I’ll always remember the Grenfell tragedy. The day that the tower went up in flames I was working for a disaster relief agency. We managed to have people on the ground, in the community, during the day of the disaster and for weeks after, providing pastoral support to those impacted by this horrific tragedy. 

When you’ve read the stories of what happened and spoken to people who lost loved ones you can’t live your life the same way again. That is why I took the job I have now, supporting residents through one of the UK’s largest building safety inspection programmes. I’ve been involved in everything from engaging with building safety campaign lobby groups through to speaking with Members of the House of Lords and government on the topic. 

This is why I have tabled the motion due to be debated by Havering’s councillors this week. I am asking the councillors to agree to something very simple, that we set our own rules that are tougher than the law requires. 

Building safety guidance is changing. For example, any high-rise that starts being built after September 2026 will have to have two staircases. However, until that date, the government has said that blocks can be built with a single staircase, as having one is not unsafe. Havering Council agrees and, at a committee last week, senior staff reiterated that “A single staircase is not unsafe”. 

The rule changes go further than just staircases, to include everything from the materials used to build balconies through to the use of sprinklers. 

Most of these new rules, however, only apply to certain buildings. So, if your building is just 6 storeys high then it won’t need 2 staircases or sprinklers to be legally ‘safe’. How much difference does adding one extra floor make? 

This is why I have proposed the motion that I have. Havering’s rules should be stricter than what the government is proposing. 

Havering Council has a document known as the Havering Local Plan. This is a legal document which outlines rules developers have to follow if building in the borough. If we added in a rule saying “You must install sprinklers in a building above 5 storeys” then developers would have to do that, even though the law says from 6. That’s an example. 

As we all know, Havering is going to get an increasing number of tower-blocks. If you have seen the new Romford Masterplan, which the administration is about to publish for consultation, you will see images of tower-blocks covering the Brewery car-park. 

If this is the future that our council leaders want, eliminating all our car parks to build tower-blocks, then I think we need to set London’s toughest building safety standards.

Being in politics means that sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and it can be a thin line to walk. I think about the Waterloo Estate, where the council could have begun building the homes there years ago, but where they will probably now not start work until 2026. 

What do we do there? Havering has 300 families living in temporary accommodation, raising kids in hotels and B&Bs. Do we tell those families that they must continue to raise their kids in a B&B, whilst we redesign the estate, or do we get on and house them in buildings the government and Havering have both called “not unsafe”?

I struggle with that question, because I want us to build the best. But I am sick and tired of families being forced to live in horrific conditions. A parent who was moved into temporary accommodation with a 1 yr old will have that child in school before we have built the first part of the Waterloo Estate. That is no way for us to treat societies most vulnerable. 

That is why I have called on the council to get on and build those homes. They are not ‘unsafe’, and we urgently need them. To leave families in temporary accommodation for another 2-3 years is cruel. 

But there are buildings not even planned for Havering. Like the Brewery Car park tower-blocks being suggested by the council administration. Buildings that are a minimum of 5 years away, probably more like 10. Those homes are not delayed, we are not in desperate need of them, and probably most of Romford doesn’t even want them. 

So, let’s make sure that if they have to go up then they go above and beyond the law in building safety. 

It isn’t contradictory to say “Let’s house families now” and “Let’s set tougher standards for the future”. That is a plan to tackle two of our borough’s problems, rather than letting the homelessness crisis get even worse. 

There are many lessons we can learn from Grenfell. The cladding used had been signed off as safe, it wasn’t. The building was poorly maintained, meaning fire doors didn’t work. The emergency lift key didn’t work, preventing fire-fighters from getting their equipment up to higher floors. Emergency call handlers told families to stay-put even after firefighters on the ground told families to get out. 

Grenfell was about a lot more than just one or two staircases. It was a systematic failing, where the guidelines in place where not enough and where many of the guidelines were not followed. A part of the cause of Grenfell was that people in positions of power treated vulnerable residents as second-class, allowing them to live in terrible conditions and ignoring their pleas for help.

To truly change things, we have to think about a lot more than just two staircases. We must ask why cover the Brewery Car Park in more tower-blocks, as opposed to houses? Why only have sprinklers in buildings above 6 storeys in height, not four? Why leave people living in overcrowded and unsuitable temporary accommodation? Does the council do enough to tackle damp and mould? 

When I vote on Wednesday, I’ll be voting for Havering to set London’s toughest building safety standards. I’ll do it that way because that’s what the memory of Grenfell deserves, and it’s what Havering’s residents deserve. 

There are attempts to change my motion and I believe that one of those changes makes the rules softer. For the sake of our borough’s future, I hope that councillors vote the right way.

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