London Grenfell tower fire: Housing group reassures Coventry high-rise residents

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Coventry council leader declines to join MPs in calling for sprinklers in all tower blocks after Grenfell



COVENTRY council leader George Duggins has declined to join MPs in calling for the city’s residential tower blocks to be fitted with sprinkler systems in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.

Speaking with the Coventry Observer following our investigation into fire safety at 24 city tower blocks housing 17,000 residents, Labour councillor Duggins instead said further meetings and fire service inspections were scheduled before final decisions would be made.

He said West Midlands Fire Service advice on retro-fitting sprinkler systems was ‘nuanced’ – as Coventry Labour MPs Jim Cunningham, Colleen Fletcher and Geoffrey Robinson backed calls for sprinklers in all tower blocks.

Councillor Duggins said the advice with housing association landlord Whitefriars and the fire service was that it could take eight years to fit full sprinkler systems into all of Birmingham’s tower blocks alone.

COVENTRY council leader George Duggins has declined to join MPs in calling for the city’s residential tower blocks to be fitted with sprinkler systems in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.

Speaking with the Coventry Observer following our investigation into fire safety at 24 city tower blocks housing 17,000 residents, Labour councillor Duggins instead said further meetings and fire service inspections were scheduled before final decisions would be made.

He said West Midlands Fire Service advice on retro-fitting sprinkler systems was ‘nuanced’ – as Coventry Labour MPs Jim Cunningham, Colleen Fletcher and Geoffrey Robinson backed calls for sprinklers in all tower blocks.

Councillor Duggins said the advice with housing association landlord Whitefriars and the fire service was that it could take eight years to fit full sprinkler systems into all of Birmingham’s tower blocks alone.

Cabinet member Jim O’Boyle, whose St Michael’s ward covers Coventry city centre and Hillfields where many tower blocks stand, said the fire service advice was of general support for sprinkler systems, but that fitting could take years. Not least because of a limited number of companies doing the work nationally.

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Grenfell Tower style fire concerns see cladding ripped from Allied Carpets building



Developers are ripping cladding from a student accommodation complex in the city centre after fire safety concerns were raised.

The former Allied Carpets building is in the process of being transformed into a luxury 91-bedroom complex aimed at Chinese students.

But developers have been forced to remove cladding installed on the three floor building after concerns about the materials used were raised in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Whitefriars, which operates the neighbouring 13-floor residential tower block Hillman House, raised the alarm after becoming aware of the type of cladding in place.

Coventry City Council officials stepped in and gave the developers seven days to remove the material after deciding the cladding was not up to a suitable fire retardant standard.

Residents at Hillman House have received letters explaining what is going on and a meeting over the issues is set to take place this evening. It is not thought anyone will be asked to leave while the cladding work takes place.

One resident at Hillman House, who contacted the Telegraph, said he was concerned lives could have been put at risk by the move.

He said: “We have been sent a letter. The cladding they are using isn’t safe. They are ripping it down.

“It’s been up for six months and now we’ve been told it’s a fire concern.

“They’re building almost 100 flats and they will be sharing the fire escape with Hillman House, we opposed the development but the council didn’t listen.”

He added: “I believe we were in danger, as were the people walking down Smithford Way in the city centre.”

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Cladding a cause for concern says council in wake of Grenfell tragedy



Coventry City Council has said the rules on cladding for new developments do not go far enough following the Grenfell Tower disaster.

The west London fire prompted concerns over the quality of cladding used in a refurbishment of the tower block and its limitations when it came to being fire resistant.

Coventry City Council’s cladding concerns have been expressed following an ongoing dispute with a developer transforming the former Allied Carpets building in the city centre.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration , who has been talking to concerned residents, said: “I’m flabbergasted at the lack of power we seem to have in ensuring the people that live in Hillman House feel safe.

“The building directly below them is being clad yet there are no powers through the building control process to insist on a particular cladding in this instance.

“And if the developer, as they have in that case, employed private building control we have no power again.”

Cllr O’Boyle pledged to continue liaising with residents and reassured them current regulations would be enforced but said he would also strive to ensure all new developments go the extra mile in terms of the quality of materials used.

He added: “I will continue to work with residents. And to reassure them that to the letter of the current regulations the work does comply.

“But this won’t stop us continuing to apply pressure at every opportunity to make sure all new developments in the city are the best quality we can achieve working with developers and the regulation.

“I will also be writing to the minister responsible to explain why this isn’t good enough.”

The Telegraph asked Apps Living Ltd to comment on Cllr O’Boyle’s concerns but no response has been received as yet.

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Tenants to leave Rugby tower blocks over fire safety fears



All tenants from two Warwickshire tower blocks are to be moved from their homes over serious fire safety concerns.

More than 150 people living at Biart Place, Rugby, will be rehoused after a council approved the plan on Tuesday.

A building survey commissioned by Rugby Borough Council highlighted issues with fire resistance, poor quality concrete and corroding steel.

No decision has been made about whether to spend £25m refurbishing the 50-year-old flats or demolish them.

Tenants from Fairway and Green Court will receive compensation and found "similar accommodation that meets their needs", the local authority said.

Everyone is expected to have left the flats by March 2019, but some moves are beginning with immediate effect.

Currently, 90 of the 124 flats are occupied.

A recent check confirmed there were 155 residents at Biart Place, but that figure is thought to be "fluid".

The authority commissioned a survey in 2016 which found the blocks had "been built to a poor standard and may not perform as expected in the event of a fire or explosion", although they met British fire resistance standards.

But, the council said, the risk of a fire had been substantially reduced because there was no gas supply and changes had been made to the evacuation policy.

A report is also being prepared on nearby Rounds Gardens, which has three blocks and 189 flats.

However, the authority said the structural issues there were not the same as at Biart Place.