Moratorium called for high rise timber-frame construction following London fire

The Modern Masonry Alliance (MMA) has called for the government to implement a moratorium on timber-framed high rise buildings after a serious fire destroyed a housing site in north-west London earlier this month. The fire hit the Beaufort Park site in Colindale, being developed by Berkeley arm St George, on 12 July.

In a statement issued today the MMA also called for a ban on timber-cladding on low-rise timber-framed buildings and a ban on subsidies to timber-framed developments by regeneration quango English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation. These demands were made in a letter sent to communities and local government secretary Ruth Kelly.

MMA chairman Martin Clarke said: "We have been warning about the fire risk for some time and have been urging government to rethink its policy for this method of construction as a provision for high-density living. It seems reckless for the taxpayer to promote timber-framed construction after the Colindale incident, which is the latest and largest of a number of such fires throughout the UK. A new worry is that we are proposing to house some of the world’s greatest athletes in the Olympic Village, which we could well be timber-frame.”