Gateway 1 and defective Fire Statements

[BPL]

I'm seeking advice - please help.

What is the position if a Council Planning Committee approves a development for which the Fire Statement is deficient ?  (The Gateway 1 regime for high-rise buildings came into force last August, and the application was considered under those rules.)

I live in a high-rise block, and  the local Planning Committee has passed an infill proposal whose layout effectively blocks access for high reach fire appliances. The tower is 46m high and nobody knows or has bothered to find out if the fire brigade can get access under the proposed site layout.  The Fire Statement has not identified where a high-reach vehicle would stand, how it would reach the building, or how it would be within the 18m maximum distance to the dry riser. No swept path analysis/tracking has been done for high reach fire appliances.  The Fire Statement contains several serious errors with potentially dangerous consequences.

The Planning Committee (with a couple of exceptions) considers that this is acceptable, and seem to intend that 'concerns' will be dealt with by Building Control.  This is exactly what the Gateway 1 is designed to prevent.  Fire Safety Objections made on publication of the Planning documents - ie a good 2 months before the planning decision - were not addressed, but met with standard boilerplate responses and reiteration of fire safety buzz-terms such as 'we incorporate the highest standards of fire safety from the outset' etc.

Legislation and guidance on filling out Fire Statement forms is plentiful and clear - and also explicit that site layout and access for emergency vehicles is a land use matter, rather than a highly complex technical one for Building Control. 

At the planning meeting, one member did make a point of order requesting a deferral (fire safety) but the proposal was passed.  We can't afford Judicial Review, and this proposal is potentially lethal. 

Any advice ? 

Thanks in advance.

[AnthonyB]

Contact the Building Safety Regulator - ultimately they have the final say.