Expert says new regime offers more certainty as Building Safety Bill receives royal assent
一位业内专家表示，对建筑安全要求的日益确定，可能会扭转伦敦塔楼项目新规划申请数量下降的趋势。
Datapublished by think tank New London Architecture this weekfound the number of applications in the capital for developments taller than 20 storeys fell by 13.3% last year compared to 2020.
The study found 2021 was the third consecutive year that the number had dropped, with last year’s total of 72 applications being 37% lower than the peak of 114 in 2018.
But Glenigan economics director Allan Wilen said it was too early to be alarmed at the figures because of disruption caused in recent years by Brexit, the pandemic and uncertainty over regulatory requirements for tall buildings following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
他说，2019年公布的《建筑安全法案》(Building Safety Bill)让开发商“有些犹豫和反思”。
“There was a lot going on because of Grenfell and regulatory uncertainty both in terms of cost and consumer confidence,” Wilen said.
“Now we’re moving forward and there’s a bit more certainty as to what is required on the technical side of things to make sure those buildings are safe but also to make sure the regulatory regimes are in there to give buyer confidence.”
In January, developer Ballymore pulled a planning application for a 52-storey Docklands tower after the London Fire Brigade flagged that the building only had a single staircase to evacuate the block in the event of an emergency.
The scheme, by Morris & Co, eventually secured planning earlier this month after reworking its designs to include a second staircase.
Current regulations only require residential tower blocks to have a single means of escape, but the rules have been criticised as too relaxed compared to other countries where at least two fire escapes are required.
Despite London’s falling numbers of tower applications in recent years, 2021 still saw nearly three times as many applications as the number received in 2012, when just 26 schemes taller than 20 storeys went in for planning, according to NLA.
去年的规划审批数量也创下纪录，有98个塔楼项目获得批准，而2020年为72个。
格伦尼根的数据还显示，去年塔楼的开工数量有所增加，开工项目有23个，而前一年只有16个。
Private housing accounted the bulk for the starts, with 19 residential towers recorded as starting construction compared to three office schemes and one social housing development.
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