The Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) in the UK has responded to the Government’s proposal on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings. Source: Timberbiz
The CTI’s official response focuses on the “ambiguity over the scope of the ban being proposed in the consultation.”
“While we applaud the findings of the Hackitt review, and can fully understand the Government’s desire to be seen to be taking tough action, an outright ban on certain materials is likely to have unintended consequences,” CTI director David Hopkins said.
“One particular area of concern is in the consultation proposal to ban the use of combustible materials throughout the entire height of walls in buildings over 18 metres. There is a large market for timber cladding and fascias on the first three stories of such buildings. This is within easy reach of regular fire inspection and maintenance regimes.
Yet this market would be lost if the proposed ban goes ahead as described in the consultation.”
Major trade organisations such as WPA, TRADA, STA, BWF and TTF are currently working together on fire guidance and safety across all points of the Timber Supply Chain.
“Timber has a large role to play in fire-safe, sustainable construction. We need to be pro-active to maintain this,” Mr Hopkins said.
