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Retirement housing giant installs sprinklers in all buildings over six storeys
Housing 21, the largest provider of extra care housing in England, has revealed it has installed sprinklers in all of its buildings that are over six storeys high.
The Birmingham-headquartered group, which owns and manages around 21,000 properties, said it has taken the measure at six of its sites as part of a series of actions to tackle fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
However, none of the buildings above six storeys had “cladding issues” that had been identified as a “risk”, Housing 21 said in its annual report. In total the group spent £9.9m on property improvements in the year to March 2019, it said.
Sprinklers have been a focus since the Grenfell fire, as the 24-storey block was not fitted with them.
Last month the government launched a consultation recommending that sprinklers be made compulsory in all new residential buildings of 18 metres or taller. The current requirement is buildings of 30 metres or higher.
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Housing 21, which operates in nearly 200 local authority areas, said in its annual report: “Fire safety is at the top of our agenda. We have undertaken a series of programmes to address it, including various fire stopping works and the installation of sprinklers in all of our properties above six storeys.”
The group said it will also be reviewing its fire alarm “zoning” and carrying out Type 4 fire risk assessment surveys in the current financial year.
In August, around 150 people were evacuated from a retirement complex in Crewe, after a fire ripped through the development, which was managed by Your Housing.
Elsewhere in its annual report, Housing 21 revealed it has been trialling off-site manufacturing. It was used to add properties to existing sites in Shropshire and West Yorkshire, the group said.
“Manufacturing the properties offsite minimised disruption to existing residents and dramatically reduced build time while still providing a high-quality product,” it said.
On its financial performance, Housing 21 reported that its group post-tax surplus slid 16% to £18.1m.
Operating surplus was also down, which, it said, reflects a £1.4m one-off non-cash charge for the write-off of goodwill. Turnover rose 4% to £186.4m.
Net debt rose slightly to £387m but is still well down on the 2015 figure of £438m, which is due to less development, the group said.
As part of a new strategic plan, it is aiming to build 2,100 extra care homes and 210 new retirement homes by March 2022.
Housing 21 reverted back to its original name in April this year, after changing it to Housing & Care 21 in 2014. The change back was “in response to feedback from residents and other stakeholders” and to “avoid any perception of institutionalised care home provision”, the group said.
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.
