Local Remediation Acceleration Plan (LRAP)

What is the Local Remediation Acceleration Plan?

The East Midlands Local Remediation Acceleration Plan (LRAP) is a regional partnership plan led by the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to speed up the identification and remediation of residential buildings with unsafe cladding and other significant fire safety defects following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The plan brings together Fire and Rescue Services, Local Authorities, the Building Safety Regulator, Homes England and other partners to improve data sharing, coordinate inspections and enforcement, support residents, and ensure remediation progresses more quickly.

Goals

The LRAP reflects the National Remediation Acceleration Plan and it’s three main Objectives:

Fix buildings faster

This goal includes not only remediating known buildings faster, but also swiftly reacting to newly identified buildings. Ensuring that all 18m+ buildings with unsafe cladding are remediated by 2029, and all 11m+ buildings are either remediated by 2029 or have a suitable completion date, is one of the main aims of this goal. Those buildings that haven’t met this requirement could face enforcement action or severe penalties.

Identify all buildings at risk

The LRAP aims to identify buildings with unsafe cladding more quickly and to create an accurate database of buildings that helps us identify those that require remediation quickly and effectively.

Support residents and leaseholders

Agencies involved in the LRAP, by ensuring that risks are identified and addressed more effectively, are working toward creating a safer and more secure living environment, provide clear communication and reduce financial and emotional burdens. This plan will support residents by improving safety, reliability and the overall quality of services provided to them. The overall aim of this goal is to enhance residents’ wellbeing and provide greater confidence that their needs are being met.

What is the role of Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service?

Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) plays a fundamental regulatory role in identifying, inspecting, prioritising and enforcing remediation of high-risk residential buildings. NFRS is one of the key regulators that EMCAA will coordinate through the LRAP.

Join Audit and Inspection Team (JAIT)

The Join Audit and Inspection Team was established in 2019 as a partnership between Nottingham City Council (NCC) and NFRS to inspect multi-occupied residential buildings (MORBs) by undertaking joint fire safety audits. The role of the team is to audit and inspect, and to ensure the safety of MORBs in the City of Nottingham. Both organisations use their statutory duties under the Housing Act 2004 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to ensure buildings are made safe, if any issues are found.

Identifying buildings requiring remediation and enforcing compliance

NFRS estimates there are approximately 171 buildings over 11m that need to be assessed to determine whether they fall within the remediation programme and will greatly contribute towards the goal of the LRAP of “identifying buildings at risk more quickly”.

NFRS, through their powers under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, drives remediation and improves building safety and provides leadership and expertise across the East Midlands.

What is the role of the Responsible Person?

The LRAP expects the Responsible Person to ensure the buildings under their responsibility are safe and to progress remediation work. The Responsible Person sits at the heart of safety and compliance by:

Identifying and assessing building risks – Responsible Persons are expected to understand the fire safety risks in their buildings and, where required, commission assessments such as Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEWs) to establish the scope of any remediation work required.
Carry out remediation works – The Responsible Person is expected to arrange and progress remediation to ensure the safety of residents as soon as possible.
Cooperate with Regulators – Regular contact and engaging with Fire and Rescue Service, Local Authorities, Homes England and other regulators is fundamental to ensure the progress of the LRAP.
Act on inspection findings – The JAIT inspectors will identify deficiencies, issue recommendations and/or improvement requirements and the Responsible Person must address them. Where remediation has not yet been completed, RPs must ensure appropriate interim measures are in place (when required) to keep residents safe.
Resident Engagement – The LRAP places significant emphasis on improving residents’ experience. Building owners, freeholders and managing agents are expected to engage with residents and provide information on remediation.

If the Responsible Person fails to comply with their duties, Regulators may use their powers under the Fire Safety Order, the Housing Act and/or the Building Safety Act to pursue Enforcement Action and potential penalties for buildings that fail to progress towards remediation.

Conclusion

Resident Safety will always be the highest priority, achieved through close collaboration between regulators and partner organisations. The LRAP places a strong emphasis on relevant regulators working together to ensure that buildings, and the people leaving in them, remain safe. While remediation works are being planned or carried out, buildings continue to be monitored by building owners, managing agents and regulatory partners to ensure appropriate safety measures remain in place. All parties are working together to identify risks, progress remediation as quickly as possible, and provide clear information on timescales and next steps. Building safety issues can create uncertainty and all partners are committed to keeping residents informed, listening to concerns and ensuring that every reasonable step is taken to protect those who live in affected buildings.