Services / Fire Engineering / 05
Planning & Fire Safety Statements
Gateway one, answered properly the first time.
What it is
Planning applications for relevant buildings in England must include a fire statement covering site layout, water supplies, fire service access and the principles of the emerging fire strategy. This is the Gateway 1 requirement under the Building Safety Act regime for relevant high-rise residential buildings, but the same principles apply more broadly to any scheme where fire service access, water supply or escape layout are material planning considerations. We prepare statements that answer the planning question precisely — enough substance to satisfy the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as statutory consultee, without over-committing a design that is still moving. The statement is submitted in a planning context, but it is tested technically. Where a fire statement is thin — access routes that do not work on the ground, water supply left unresolved, an evacuation approach that contradicts the emerging design — the BSR as statutory consultee can advise against the application or request further information, and determination is delayed while the questions are answered. A statement that anticipates the consultee's questions is inexpensive insurance against programme delay. Gateway 1 is also the first entry in a record that follows the building. The principles committed at planning become the reference point for the fire strategy that develops through design and is submitted at Gateway 2 — so a statement written casually now creates rework, or contradictions, later. We write fire statements with the whole gateway sequence in view.
When you need it
- A planning application includes a relevant high-rise residential building
- The local authority or BSR has requested fire information at planning stage
- A masterplan needs fire service access and water strategy resolved early
What you receive
- A compliant fire statement on the prescribed form
- Site plan mark-ups for access, hardstandings and hydrant provision
- Coordination notes for the design team as the scheme develops
How we do it
- Scoping: we confirm whether the scheme triggers the Gateway 1 requirement, and which fire matters — site layout, fire service access, water supply, evacuation principles — are material to this particular application.
- Design review with the team: access routes, hardstandings and hydrant provision tested against the site plan, and the emerging fire strategy principles established with the architect before anything is committed on the form.
- Drafting on the prescribed form: site layout, access, water supply and strategy principles stated at planning level, each answer written to the question the consultee will actually ask.
- Consultee support: responses to BSR and local planning authority queries after submission, keeping the statement consistent with the scheme as it develops towards Gateway 2.
What drives the cost
Cost depends on the number and height of buildings in the application, the complexity of the site — constrained access, phased masterplans and shared podiums all add analysis — the maturity of the design information available at planning stage, and the extent of consultee correspondence supported after submission. Outline applications with parameters still in motion take more coordination than detailed ones. We scope each commission individually and provide a fixed fee before starting.
Common questions
When is a fire statement required?
A fire statement must accompany a planning application in England where the scheme includes a relevant high-rise residential building — broadly, those the Building Safety Act regime treats as higher-risk: at least 18 metres or seven storeys, containing two or more residential units. That is the Gateway 1 requirement. Beyond that formal trigger, local planning authorities can and do request fire safety information wherever fire service access, water supply or escape layout are material to the application — so a proportionate statement is often worth preparing even where the requirement does not strictly bite.
What does Gateway 1 involve?
Gateway 1 is the planning stage of the Building Safety Act's three-gateway regime. It requires the planning application to include a fire statement, on the prescribed form, covering site layout, fire service access, water supplies and the principles of the emerging fire strategy. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) acts as statutory consultee and advises the local planning authority on the statement — a role held by the Health and Safety Executive until January 2026. It operates through the planning system rather than as a separate regulatory approval — but a statement that does not satisfy the consultee can hold up determination of the whole application.
Who reviews the fire statement?
The local planning authority determines the application, and for schemes in scope the Building Safety Regulator provides fire safety advice as statutory consultee — advice the authority must take into account when determining the application. In practice the statement is written for two readers: a planning officer who needs the fire issues framed in planning terms, and a technical consultee who will test the substance. Our statements are structured for both — the planning considerations answered directly, with the fire engineering reasoning behind them stated plainly.
How much design detail should the statement include?
Enough to show the principles are sound; not so much that the design is boxed in. At planning stage the scheme is still moving, so the statement should commit firmly to the matters planning genuinely controls — site layout, access routes, water supply, the broad evacuation approach — and describe the fire strategy at the level of principle. Over-specifying invites conditions and later inconsistency with the design submitted at Gateway 2; under-specifying invites consultee objection and delay. Judging that line is most of the craft.
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