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NIHE sets aside nearly £8m to fit sprinklers in 31 tower blocks
Northern Ireland’s housing authority is tendering a £7.7m contract to fit sprinklers in 31 of its tower blocks.
A procurement notice from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) said it is seeking “suitably qualified and competent contractors” to install sprinklers in 31 towers containing 1,926 flats, 275 of which are privately owned.
NIHE said: “There is an expectation that the successful framework member will have additional levels of professional indemnity insurance to comply with any updated building regulations and fire safety for buildings over 18m tall.
“They will be expected to be familiar with the Dame Judith Hackitt report, Building a Safer Future, and to be able to deploy the themes of fire safety intent and audit, and the information data ‘Golden Thread’ (collecting fire safety data throughout the project, ensuring it is validated and provides a full audit of signed off systems and details for issue at the end of a project).”
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NIHE said it expects to use the money to pay for three separate contracts covering approximately 10 blocks each, subject to the final procurement strategy being agreed.
In England, the government updated building regulations in Approved Document B to reduce the height at which sprinklers are required for new residential buildings from 30m to 11m.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the NIHE established an independent reference group to “examine all aspects of fire safety to explore and analysis the precautionary measures” NIHE had undertaken on its 33 tower blocks.
In its annual report, the NIHE said following the issuing by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of its consolidated guidance in January 2020, it is reassessing the fire safety of all its tower blocks to ensure they meet the required standards.
“The Housing Executive will develop an action plan and any remedial action will be prioritised,” it said.
