Fire Safety FAQs

Following conversations with Government, Bellway has signed the Building Safety Pledge, which sees Bellway (and other developers who have signed the pledge) commit to:

• Fund, undertake or procure at our own cost as quickly as reasonably possible all necessary remediation or mitigation work to address life-critical fire safety issues arising from design, construction or refurbishment defects on buildings above 11 metres in England which Bellway played a role in developing or refurbishing that have been built by the Group since 5 April 1992. The standard of remediation will be assessed proportionately to the standard as articulated in the PAS methodology and other relevant industry standards to ensure that affected buildings meet a life-critical safety standard;
• Withdraw any buildings that we have played a role in constructing from the Building Safety Fund and ACM Funds, and reimburse any costs incurred to date by those funds; and
• Publish the pledge on our website, and agree a process with DLUHC for contacting building owners of buildings falling within scope, of the pledge, to agree the steps required to meet its objectives.

In practice, this means that Bellway has agreed to fund, undertake or procure at our own cost, and as quickly as reasonably possible, all necessary remediation or mitigation work to address life-critical fire safety issues arising from design, construction or refurbishment defects on buildings above 11 metres in England, which Bellway played a role in developing or refurbishing since 5 April 1992. You can find out more about our pledge on our website here

After extensive and constructive engagement with Government, Bellway signed the Pledge's Self-Remediation Terms in March 2023. Bellway will be remediating to the standard as defined in the Developer Remediation contract.

In addition, Bellway signed the Welsh version of the Pledge (known as the Developer’s Pact) on 25 May 2023.

These life-critical works are those that are deemed necessary to bring the building up to the standards of fire safety required. They do not include any additional works which are deemed as betterment i.e. works in addition to those considered necessary for a building to meet the required standard.

Bellway has communicated directly with building owners and/or responsible entities of buildings which are above 11 metres in England and have been built since 5 April 1992. If your building has been identified to fit criteria of works set out in the Building Safety Pledge, your responsible entity will be in touch.

If you are unsure as to whether your building will be covered under this pledge, please speak to your responsible entity in the first instance.

Bellway has communicated directly with building owners and/or responsible entity of buildings which are above 11 metres in England and Wales and have been built since 5 April 1992. In the first instance you should speak to your responsible entity.

Under the terms of the Self-Remediation Terms, costs for temporary measures are not included in the costs developers will cover as part of the remediation activity.

Where works are already underway through the BSF, this will continue and Bellway will be cover the costs of these works and will liaise directly with the BSF. Where additional works are required, Bellway may take on responsibility for those additional works should the BSF transfer responsibility to us.

The timescales for the remediation of buildings is dependent on a number of factors – therefore we are unable to provide indicative timescales at this stage. Only when full analysis of any development is completed, can a remediation strategy be implemented and we will be able to provide an indication of timescales at that point.

As part of the Building Safety Pledge, Bellway will be remediating to the standard as defined in the Developer Remediation Contract.

Following changes by the Government, the majority of lenders no longer require EWS1 certification so Bellway will instead provide a written assessment to your managing agent, confirming the works have been completed to a tolerable level of risk.

We are communicating with building owners and/or responsible entities and will provide updates through them to ensure that a consistent line of communication is maintained with leaseholders.

Bellway signed the Welsh version of the Pledge (known as the Developer’s Pact) on 25 May 2023 and we will be undertaking remediation in line with this agreement.

The industry is currently in discussions with the Scottish Government relating to its Scottish Safer Buildings Accord proposals.

Where Bellway is remediating a building, we will regularly provide updates to leaseholders through the responsible entity. Where works is ongoing, a dedicated Resident Liaison team will be appointed to communicate site specific information to leaseholders. For buildings, where we have only just been made aware of potential issues, we will review the information with our external fire engineers and communicate again with the building owner or responsible entity.

The Developer’s Remediation Contract clearly state the costs which developers must meet relating to necessary life safety works. Anything outside of the legal agreement will not be considered.

The initial point of contact for remediation works at developments will be your managing agent or responsible entity for the development. Bellway will communicate through the managing agents or the responsible entity to ensure all leaseholders are kept up to date. Where remediation works are being undertaken by Bellway on a development, a dedicated Resident Liaison team will be on site to provide support to leaseholders/residents during the works.

The pledge is for buildings over 11 metres and built since 5 April 1992. Where buildings remain under warranty, claims for defects or safety issues should be made on the Buildmark Warranty provided through the NHBC.

For buildings over 11 metres built since 5 April 1992, Bellway has pledged to address life-critical fire safety issues, regardless of the build type. A refurbished building therefore will be covered under the building safety pledge, if it meets the criteria.

As set out in the Developer Remediation contract, a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW)/ Fire Safety Assessment will be obtained to ensure a building meets a tolerable level of risk. We will communicate the plans with the responsible entities for the development, leaseholders, residents and other key stakeholders when they are available and we will organise meetings of the stakeholders to share our plans.

Any Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW)/ Fire Safety Assessment will be undertaken by suitably qualified independent fire engineers appointed by Bellway or in some instances by the managing agent/ responsible entity.

The timescales for the remediation of buildings is dependent on a number of factors – therefore we are unable to provide indicative timescales at this stage. Only when full analysis of any development is completed, can a remediation strategy be implemented and we will be able to provide an indication of timescales at that point.

Bellway’s Building Safety Pledge can be found here.

Bellway is required by the Developer Remediation contract to remediate to the standard as defined within the contract.

This requires a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW)/ Fire Safety Assessment which will highlight any defects proportionately in accordance with the assessed risk. The remediation will be carried out to an agreed scope of works derived from recommendations made within these surveys.