The debate over the performance of timber framed buildings has erupted again following the blaze in July at a housing development in north west London.
The fire at the beaufort park development in Colindale destroyed a block of flats under construction and spread to neighbouring buildings. Some 2500 people from surrounding buildings – including the police training college at Hendon, student halls of residence and a number of nearby homes – were evacuated.
The Modern Masonry Alliance (MMA) has renewed its campaign against timber construction for high density buildings following the fire. It has written to Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, and MP Andrew Dinsmore, chairman of the Fire Brigades’ Union parliamentary group in whose constituency the fire happened, urging:
– a moratorium on high rise mutli-storey timber framed construction for housing and other accommodation
– a ban on timber cladding on low rise timber framed housing
– a ban on subsidies to timber framed developments by English Partnership and the Housing Corporation.
MMA chairman, Martin Clarke, said: “We have been warning about the fire risk for some time and have been urging government to rethink its policy for this method of construction as a provision for high density housing.
“It seems reckless for the taxpayer to promote timber-framed construction after the Colindale incident, which is the latest and largest of a number of such fires throughout the UK. A new worry is that we are proposing to house some of the world’s greatest athletes in the Olympic Village, which could well be timber-frame.”
But the timber construction industry points to the fire risks of all types of building frames, and insists that properly designed and constructed timber buildings are just as safe. A spokesperson for the UK Timber Frame Association told FSE that the Beaufort Park development was far from complete, and that plasterboard and other fire protection elements had not yet been installed. “We await the results of the fire brigade investigation. If there is anything useful to learn from it, we will communicate it to our members.”
Responding to the MMA’s comments she added: “We don’t comment about their campaigns and find them totally unnecessary. Government, insurers and developers support all forms of construction, whether from timber, steel or masonry.”
Just before the Colindale fire, supermarket groups Tesco and Asda announced they would be switching to timber-framed construction for the building of new superstores.
