Fire evidence for a building just below the threshold
Article 9A only bites at 18 metres or seven storeys. Below that line the duty falls away but the questions do not, so the skill is answering proportionately.
A building below 18 metres fire duty question has a clean statutory answer and a messy practical one. Article 9A of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 requires a Fire Statement only where the development involves a relevant building, meaning one containing two or more dwellings or educational accommodation that reaches 18 metres or seven storeys. A six-storey block at 17.4 metres is not a relevant building, the Health and Safety Executive is not consulted as Planning Gateway One consultee, and no Fire Statement is required for validation.
Officers still ask about fire. Local plan policy, highway access, water supply and the second staircase debate all keep the subject alive on schemes that fall outside the statutory gate, and the useful skill is answering proportionately without writing a document you will be held to for the next decade.
Where the duty stops applying
The height test in Article 9A is specific about how the measurement is taken. The relevant dimension is from ground level to the floor surface of the top storey, and storeys consisting exclusively of roof-top machinery or plant are ignored for that purpose. The storey count is the alternative trigger, so a seven-storey building below 18 metres is still caught.
Three practical consequences follow for a scheme that sits below both triggers.
- No Fire Statement is needed on the prescribed form, and the council cannot make one a validation requirement by reference to Article 9A.
- The Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive is not a statutory consultee at the planning stage for this scheme.
- The building is not a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act 2022 gateways at design and completion, so the ordinary building control route applies.
Measure it properly and write the measurement down. The number of schemes that turn out to be 18.1 metres once the finished floor level is fixed is not small, and finding out at validation is expensive.
Why councils still ask questions
Development plan policy is the main reason. The London Plan 2021 carries Policy D12 on fire safety, and its first part applies to all development proposals rather than only to tall or major ones, requiring the highest standards of fire safety to be achieved. The second part requires major development to submit a fire statement produced by a suitably qualified assessor. A 17-metre residential block in a London borough is therefore very likely to need a fire safety submission under the development plan even though Article 9A does not bite. Boroughs outside London increasingly carry comparable policies, so read the adopted plan rather than assuming the statutory position is the whole story.
Beyond policy there are consultees with legitimate interests. The local highway authority cares whether a fire appliance can reach within the distances set by Approved Document B and turn around. The water undertaker and the fire and rescue service care about hydrant provision and flow rates. None of that depends on the 18 metre threshold.
And there is a reputational dimension nobody writes down. Committee members read the word fire and want reassurance.
Voluntary submission and its risks
Submitting a document titled Fire Statement when no duty applies causes avoidable problems. It invites the case officer to treat the scheme as though it were within Gateway One, which can lead to an unnecessary consultation, a delay while the council works out who should comment, and occasionally a condition requiring compliance with the statement as submitted. That condition then binds the detailed design to a document written before the fire engineering was done.
There is a professional dimension too. The prescribed Fire Statement form is designed for completion by someone with fire engineering competence, and an architect who completes it out of courtesy has taken on a representation they may not be qualified to make. A Fire Statement and a Fire Safety Strategy are both fire engineering documents, and PlanScope's drafts of either are a starting point for a competent fire engineer rather than a substitute for one.
The better move is to title the submission accurately. A fire safety design note, or a fire section within the design and access statement, says what you know without claiming a status the document does not have.
Insurer and warranty expectations
Funders, warranty providers and insurers apply their own rules, and they do not track the planning threshold. Warranty providers commonly set requirements on compartmentation, cavity barriers and sprinkler or suppression provision that go beyond the minimum in Approved Document B for medium rise residential. Insurers may price a single-staircase building differently. Contractors will be asked to work to a construction phase fire plan regardless of building height.
None of that belongs in the planning submission, and mixing it in is a common source of confusion. Keep the planning document to matters the council can lawfully take into account, and keep the funder's schedule of requirements in a separate workstream. Where a warranty condition would change the external appearance or the site layout, that is when it becomes a planning matter and should be designed in before the application, not after.
What a proportionate response looks like
Two or three pages, signed off by the design team, covering the things a planning officer can actually assess.
| Topic | What to state at planning stage |
|---|---|
| Appliance access | Route, hardstanding position, turning provision, distance to the entrance |
| Water supply | Existing or proposed hydrant positions and who has been consulted |
| Evacuation approach | Stair arrangement, storey count, intended strategy in principle |
| External walls | The intended build-up in principle and the standard it will meet |
| Internal layout | Protected corridor arrangement and travel distance assumptions |
| Next stage | Confirmation that detailed design follows at Building Regulations stage |
The last row matters more than it looks. Saying plainly that the detailed fire strategy will be developed to Approved Document B and, where relevant, BS 9991 at building control stage sets the boundary of the planning document. Officers accept that boundary when it is stated. They fill the gap with conditions when it is not.
Avoiding scope creep
The failure mode is a document that starts as a page of reassurance and ends as an unverified fire strategy. Three rules keep it contained.
Do not specify products. Naming a cladding system, a door set or a sprinkler manufacturer at planning stage creates a commitment that survives into conditions and then has to be varied under section 96A or section 73 when the supply chain changes.
Do not assert compliance with a standard the design has not been tested against. Saying the scheme will be designed in accordance with BS 9991 is fine. Saying it complies with BS 9991 before any fire engineering has been done is not.
Do not answer questions that were not asked. If the council's validation list does not require fire information and the development plan carries no relevant policy, a short paragraph in the design and access statement is a complete answer. The same restraint applies to the other technical notes that get bolted onto applications, such as the structural commentary discussed in the guide to disproportionate collapse and building class.
Recording the position clearly
Put the reasoning in the covering letter rather than burying it. State the measured height to the floor surface of the top storey, the storey count, the number of dwellings, and the conclusion that the building is not a relevant building for the purposes of Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015. Then state what you have provided instead and why it is proportionate.
Keep the evidence for that measurement on file. A sectional drawing with the datum, the ground level definition used and the top storey floor level dimensioned answers the question in one sheet, and it also protects you if levels change during detailed design. Where the scheme includes a basement, the interaction between excavation, levels and the height calculation is worth checking early, in the same way that water resistance is checked early in flood resilient basement design.
One honest uncertainty. Government confirmed in 2023 that new residential buildings above 18 metres should be designed with a second staircase, and the change has been worked into Approved Document B with transitional arrangements. Buildings just below the line sit in a policy area that has moved once already, so verify the current text of the Approved Document and any transitional dates on gov.uk before you fix the core layout.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your scheme is likely to need before you fix the storey count.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. For specialist technical reports, qualified professional input may be required.
Frequently asked questions
When is a Fire Statement required with a planning application?
Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 requires one where development involves a relevant building, meaning a building containing two or more dwellings or educational accommodation that reaches 18 metres or seven storeys. Below both triggers there is no statutory duty and the Health and Safety Executive is not consulted as Planning Gateway One consultee.
How is the 18 metre height measured?
From ground level to the floor surface of the top storey of the building. Storeys consisting exclusively of roof-top machinery or plant are ignored for that measurement. The storey count is a separate trigger, so a seven-storey building below 18 metres is still caught. Record the measurement on a dimensioned section before the application is submitted.
Should I submit a Fire Statement voluntarily?
Generally no. Using that title invites the council to treat the scheme as though Gateway One applied, which can cause an unnecessary consultation and a condition binding the detailed design to a document written before any fire engineering. A fire safety design note, or a fire section in the design and access statement, describes what you know without claiming a status it lacks.
Does the London Plan require fire information below 18 metres?
Policy D12 of the London Plan 2021 addresses fire safety, and its first part applies to all development proposals rather than only tall or major schemes. The second part requires major development to submit a fire statement by a suitably qualified assessor. Read the adopted development plan for your area, because comparable policies now appear outside London too.
What should a proportionate fire note at planning stage cover?
Appliance access and turning, hydrant positions and who has been consulted, the stair arrangement and evacuation approach in principle, the intended external wall build-up and the standard it will meet, and the protected corridor arrangement. Then confirm that detailed design follows Approved Document B and, where relevant, BS 9991 at building control stage.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.