Fire safety “must be embedded in planning from the outset” urges NFCC

In publishing a new Policy Position Statement on planning, the NFCC has affirmed its support for the drive towards more affordable housing, but in parallel warns that safety must remain a fundamental consideration as the planning system evolves. Decisions made during planning, observes the NFCC, can shape community risk “for generations”.

Fire and Rescue Services play a vital role in protecting communities, but the infrastructure upon which they rely – ie safe access routes, dependable water supplies and accurate risk information – is often overlooked in the planning stage and only becomes apparent during an emergency.

The Policy Position Statement builds on the NFCC’s recent response to reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, which emphasised that proposed planning reforms are overwhelmingly focused on accelerating delivery, increasing flexibility for developers and meeting central Government housing targets “without sufficient regard” to safety in the built environment.

While Fire and Rescue Services are statutory consultees at the Building Regulations stage for new builds and building alterations, the planning and Building Control systems operate separately. This can lead to assumptions that essential Fire and Rescue Service requirements – such as site access or layout – have already been addressed when in fact they haven’t.

The Government has recently expanded the use of Permitted Development Rights, enabling certain conversions or extensions to bypass full planning scrutiny. The NFCC warns that, while this may speed up housing delivery, it must not lead to developments that later require costly remediation in order to meet current fire safety standards.

Safe, sustainable and resilient

NFCC chair Phil Garrigan said: “We fully support the Government’s ambition to deliver more homes, and we recognise the role of planning reform in achieving this, but new homes must also be safe, sustainable and resilient.”

Garrigan continued: “Planning decisions shape communities for decades. If fire safety isn’t considered from the very start, the consequences often appear much later when lives, homes and firefighter safety are placed at risk. It’s far better to design safety in from the outset than to try and retrofit solutions once problems emerge.”

Further, Garrigan commented: “We are urging Government to make fire safety a core part of the planning process with clear requirements that compel planners and developers to prioritise it from Day One.”

An additional NFCC recommendation includes stronger safeguards for residential conversions under Permitted Development Rights, preventing commercial to residential conversions from bypassing full planning scrutiny.

The NFCC is calling for stronger checks in the planning process to ensure Fire and Rescue Service expertise is properly considered, including the reinstatement of a formal requirement to consult Fire and Rescue Services on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. The call follows the removal of mandatory pre-application consultation as part of reforms in the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.

Suitable access

Fire chiefs say that ensuring suitable access for Emergency Services vehicles and reliable water supplies for firefighting is also critical, warning that no building should be occupied until adequate firefighting water provision has been confirmed.

Further, the NFCC has stated that embedding fire safety into planning will ensure the homes and developments built across the country are safe, resilient and able to protect communities long into the future.

The NFCC’s Policy Position Statement also sets out several recommendations to strengthen fire safety within planning. These include formally recognising Fire and Rescue and other Emergency Services as essential infrastructure within developer funding mechanisms such as Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy, allowing new developments to contribute towards stations, equipment and other Emergency Services resources.

The NFCC is also calling for developers, rather than Fire and Rescue Services, to fund fire hydrant installation for new developments.