Fire Statement thresholds: when Gateway One applies
Article 9A of the DMPO requires a Fire Statement for relevant buildings at 18 metres or seven storeys. Here is how the measurement works and what it triggers.
A Fire Statement is required with a planning application where the development involves a relevant building, and a relevant building is one containing two or more dwellings or educational accommodation that has seven or more storeys or is 18 metres or more in height. That test comes from Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015, which took effect on 1 August 2021. Submit an application for such a building without the statement and it is invalid.
The threshold is a floor, not a design target. A scheme at 17.8 metres is outside it, and a scheme at 18.1 metres is inside it along with the consultation, the specialist author and the programme that follows. Knowing which side of the line you are on before the massing is fixed saves months.
What Planning Gateway One does
Gateway One sits at planning stage, ahead of the two later gateways that operate through building control. Its purpose is to make sure fire safety is considered when the decisions that constrain it are still open: the site layout, the access for fire appliances, the water supply for firefighting, and the general approach to fire safety that the built form implies.
The mechanism is twofold. The applicant must submit a Fire Statement on the form published by the Secretary of State. And the Health and Safety Executive, acting as the Building Safety Regulator, becomes a statutory consultee on the application.
Neither of those is a rubber stamp. The regulator's response is a substantive consultee comment that the council must have regard to, and it can and does identify matters that need resolving before permission is granted.
The height and storey thresholds
Two limbs, and either one triggers the requirement.
| Measure | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Height | 18 metres or more, measured from ground level to the floor surface of the top storey |
| Storeys | Seven or more storeys |
The measurement convention matters. Height runs to the floor level of the top storey rather than to the roof or to the top of any plant enclosure, and storeys below ground are not counted. A building with a plant room above the top residential floor is measured to the residential floor, not to the plant.
Where the ground slopes, the measurement is taken from the lowest ground level adjacent to the building, which can pull a scheme over the line on a sloping site even though it reads as lower from the main approach. Confirm this on a section drawing early, and get the measurement agreed rather than assumed.
The storey count catches buildings that sit below 18 metres with generous floor to ceiling heights, or conversely with shallow ones. Both limbs have to be checked.
Which buildings the requirement catches
The building must contain two or more dwellings, or provide educational accommodation. A single large house is outside it regardless of height. A hotel is not residential accommodation of the relevant kind, though it may be caught by other parts of the building safety regime.
Mixed use schemes need care. A tower with commercial floors at the base and flats above is a relevant building if it meets the height or storey test and contains two or more dwellings. The commercial element does not take it out.
Existing buildings are caught too, where the development involves a relevant building. Works to an existing tower of the relevant height bring the requirement with them, which surprises applicants proposing a modest alteration to a building that has been there for forty years.
Note that PlanScope's own recommendation engine flags a Fire Statement for larger residential schemes as a prompt to check, and that flag is a screening aid rather than the legal test. The statutory test is the one in Article 9A.
What the statement contains
The Fire Statement is submitted on the specified form and deals with matters relevant to land use planning rather than with detailed fire engineering design. In practice it covers the principles of the fire safety approach, the site layout including the position of the building relative to its boundaries, access and hardstanding for fire service vehicles, water supplies and hydrant provision, and how those things relate to the proposed massing and landscape.
It is not a substitute for a fire strategy. A Fire Safety Strategy to BS 9991 or BS 9999 is a fire engineering document produced for building control, and the two are prepared at different stages for different audiences.
Both are documents where professional competence is legally required rather than advisable. The Fire Statement sits within the Building Safety Act 2022 framework and Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015, and it needs to be prepared by someone with the necessary fire engineering competence. An AI-assisted draft of a Fire Statement is a starting point for that professional and never a replacement for them. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
The Building Safety Regulator as consultee
The regulator has a defined period in which to respond, and its comments come back to the council as a consultee response. Where the response raises issues, the practical route is to resolve them with the regulator directly and submit revised material, rather than to argue the point through the council.
Two things shorten the process. Engaging before submission, so the statement reflects what the regulator expects to see. And submitting drawings that actually show the fire service access and hydrant positions rather than describing them in text, because a plan can be checked in minutes.
Where the response is unfavourable and unresolved, councils are reluctant to grant permission, and an appeal on the point is an expensive way to test a technical judgement.
Where the wider building safety regime picks up
Gateway One is the planning end of a three-stage system. Gateways Two and Three run through building control for higher-risk buildings, with the Building Safety Regulator acting as the building control authority rather than as a consultee. The higher-risk building definition in the Building Safety Act 2022 uses a similar height and storey test, which is why the two sets of thresholds are easy to confuse.
The practical difference is who you are dealing with and when. At planning you are answering a consultee. At Gateway Two you are seeking approval before construction can start, and at Gateway Three before occupation. A scheme that scrapes through planning with unresolved fire access problems meets them again at Gateway Two with far less room to manoeuvre.
Design the access and water supply properly at planning stage and the later gateways become procedural. Defer them and they become a redesign.
Programme consequences of getting it wrong
An application without a required Fire Statement is invalid, so the determination period does not start. That alone can cost six weeks on a scheme where the validation team spots it late.
The bigger risk is discovering the threshold after the design is fixed. A scheme designed at 18.5 metres with a single stair, a constrained fire appliance route and no space for a hydrant may need a layout change rather than a document. Those changes affect unit numbers, which affects viability, which affects the whole appraisal. That is the same category of problem as choosing the wrong application route at the start, discussed in outline or full: how unit numbers change the choice.
Run the height and storey check at the first massing review. Record the measurement basis on a section drawing. If the scheme sits within half a metre of the threshold, decide deliberately which side of it you want to be on, and note that thresholds elsewhere in the system move at different points, as set out in planning fees and their thresholds on a growing scheme.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Which buildings need a Fire Statement at planning stage?
Buildings containing two or more dwellings or educational accommodation that are 18 metres or more in height, or have seven or more storeys. The requirement comes from Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 and took effect on 1 August 2021. Either limb triggers it, so both the height and the storey count must be checked.
How is the 18 metre height measured?
From ground level to the floor surface of the top storey, rather than to the roof or the top of any plant enclosure. Storeys below ground are not counted. Where the ground slopes, the measurement is taken from the lowest adjacent ground level, which can bring a scheme within the threshold on a sloping site.
Does a mixed use building count?
Yes, if it meets the height or storey threshold and contains two or more dwellings. Commercial floors at the base do not take the building outside the requirement. Works to an existing building of the relevant height also bring the requirement with them, even where the proposed works themselves are modest.
Is a Fire Statement the same as a fire strategy?
No. The Fire Statement is submitted on a specified form at planning stage and addresses matters relevant to land use planning, such as site layout, fire service access and water supplies. A fire safety strategy to BS 9991 or BS 9999 is a fire engineering document prepared for building control at a later stage.
What happens if the statement is missing?
The application is invalid, so the determination period never starts and the scheme loses whatever time passes before validation picks it up. The greater risk is finding out late, because a design already fixed at 18.5 metres may need layout changes for fire appliance access rather than simply an additional document.
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.