You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
London council knew about fire safety issues five years ago
A London council was aware of fire safety issues in one of its tower blocks five years ago, a leaked letter has revealed.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council wrote to residents of Hartopp Point in 2012 when the council was under Conservative leadership to inform them that a fire risk assessment of the block had revealed breaches in fire compartmentation in walls between flats and communal areas and that repair work would be carried out, which was meant to be completed in 2013.
However, residents said this work was not done and have recently reported cracks in the walls of their flats to the council.
The council owns two large panel system blocks – Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point. This type of tower block has come under the spotlight recently after Southwark Council residents reported large cracks in the blocks at the Ledbury Estate. Southwark Council recently turned the gas supply off in their blocks because of safety concerns in the event of a gas explosion. Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point do not have a gas supply.
A spokesperson for the council, which is now Labour led, said a stage 1 structural survey had recently been completed and a stage 2 internal survey will now be carried out to check the compartmentation inside flats.
READ MORE
He added: “The administration is implementing a £20m Fire Safety Plus package that goes further than what the regulations require and we have long been working with independent fire safety experts on this programme and the safety of all our council buildings.
“Residents raised concerns about compartmentation in July. We therefore asked our building control team to survey Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point again, including residents’ flats and communal areas. We expect their preliminary report shortly. In the meantime, we are looking to gain access to more flats and to reassure residents that their homes are safe.”
The government recently wrote to councils that own large panel system blocks to warn them that gaps are a “common characteristic” of blocks built in the 1960s and 1970s.
Update: at 10.45am, 15.09.17 This story was updated to make clear Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point do not have a gas supply.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
