3 Safety and Resilience

’02 Approved Document Q compliance’ - KBCN1277

Where a development in Wales registered on or after after the 1 November 2018 complies with the new Approved Document Q for Wales, the minimum requirement in '02 Approved Document Q compliance' can be deemed to have been met. Where this is the case, when completing an assessment in BREEAM Projects, select 'yes' to 'Approved document Q compliance' and in the comments part please add that it is Approved Document Q for Wales that has been complied with.

Erratum – Credits for ‘Discharges directly to a tidal estuary or the sea’ - KBCN1371

There is a typo within the following sentence (within 'Methodology'): 'crit 2–crit 5 can be deemed to be met and 12 credits achieved by default if the site discharges rainwater directly to a tidal estuary or the sea.' It should say 'crit 2–crit 5 can be deemed to be met and 14 credits achieved by default if the site discharges rainwater directly to a tidal estuary or the sea.'

Flood risk – Site situated across numerous flood zones - KBCN0532

Where a site is situated across more than one flood zone, the flood zone with the highest probability of flooding, i.e. the worst case scenario, must be considered for the purpose of the BREEAM assessment. An exception to this would be where the areas in the higher probability zone include only soft landscaping and it can be demonstrated that access to the building will be maintained in a flooding event. This is to ensure that the site has adequately managed the worst case scenario level of flood risk associated with the site's location.

22/07/2022 Applicability to HQM One confirmed
07/03/2018 Updated to include circumstances where an exception may apply.

FRA more than 5 years old - KBCN1580

Where more than five years have passed since the FRA was carried out, to be able to use the FRA in your assessment evidence would be required to demonstrate that the basis of the FRA has not changed in that time.

SABRE Registered Professional as a Suitably Qualified Security Specialist (SQSS) - KBCN1375

A SABRE registered professional that meets the requirements outlined in the ‘SQSS’ definition is deemed to be an SQSS for the purposes of HQM. A full list of SABRE registered professionals can be found here: http://www.redbooklive.com

Security needs assessment (SNA) – Formal consultation with relevant stakeholders - KBCN1470

Providing the SQSS can provide evidence of reasonable attempts to obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders, this aspect of the SNA requirements will be satisfied. In the event that a relevant stakeholder does not provide a response when consulted (e.g. if they do not respond following a reasonable period, or they confirm that are unable to deal with the enquiry), it would be expected that SQSS consider alternative sources of information. For example, the SQSS may decide to refer to freely-available crime data on the Police UK website, and include a summary or analysis of this in their SNA.

13 Sep 2021 Applicability to HQM confirmed

Water quality credits clarification - KBCN1283

Crit 10 under the 'Water Quality' section states: 'The water quality credits are only available where at least 3 credits are sought in the comprehensive route.' Where it says 'sought' above, this should be interpreted as 'achieved'. Therefore the 'water quality' credits can only be awarded where 3 credits have been achieved in the comprehensive route.