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Haringey Council to remove gas cookers from nine dangerous towers
Haringey Council is removing gas cookers from nine tower blocks over fire safety fears on its famous Broadwater Farm Estate in Tottenham.
Nine seven-storey blocks on the estate with 1,400 residents were built using the same methods as the Ledbury Estate in Southwark, which was recently found to be at risk of partial collapse due to its gas supply which has since been deactivated.
Haringey Council began removing gas cookers yesterday to replace them with electric cookers and says it also intends to replace the gas system temporarily, though it is not clear when this will happen.
The nine affected blocks, which contain 725 properties, are large panel system tower blocks, the same kind as the infamous Ronan Point tower in Newham, which partially collapsed in the late 1960s after a gas explosion.
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Two larger tower blocks are also large panel systems, but they do not have gas supplies. Nevertheless, the council has contracted surveyors to examine them for safety.
Alan Strickland, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “I know this will be an uncertain time for residents at Broadwater Farm, and I would like to reassure those affected that the risk is low and we are taking these steps as a precaution. The safety of our residents is our first concern.
“When Homes for Haringey its investigations into the buildings, it met representatives of the residents’ association to explain that structural surveys would be carried out.”
The council aims to replace gas cookers before Christmas and staff will fit valves to the system so that gas supplies can be turned off if a leak is detected.
According to information posted on the website of Homes for Haringey, the borough’s ALMO, “there are also plans to replace the gas system temporarily until permanent measures can be put in place”. Further details about this measure have not been given.
On the Ledbury Estate in Southwark, which includes four large panel system tower blocks, the council has installed a new heating system after engineering consultancy Arup said it could not guarantee the safety of the blocks with a gas supply fitted.
