Sign our petition: we call on the Mayor and council to fit fire sprinklers in all of Hackney’s tower blocks
Hackney Town Hall
We call on the Mayor of Hackney and Hackney Council to take immediate steps to install sprinkler systems in all of the council’s residential tower blocks that are taller than 30 metres.
By law, buildings constructed since 2007 and that are taller than 30 metres are required to have sprinkler systems fitted, whilst retrofitting older blocks is recommended best practice rather than a legal requirement.
Following the 2009 Lakanal House fire in which six people died, a coroner’s report issued in 2013 recommended the installation of sprinklers in all high-rise tower blocks.
Alan Cutkelvin Rees, who lives in Queensbridge Road, told the Hackney Citizen: “I live in a nineteen storey block, there are six flats on each floor. Quite a number of vulnerable people live here. However, the building has no sprinklers fitted – they should be in every tower block in Hackney.”
The Chief Fire Officer’s Association says there is a strong business case for retrofitting sprinkler systems in older high-rises, citing an estimated cost of £1,150 per flat.
The report notes: “The cost of sprinklers per block or per flat will compare very favourably with other fire protection methods which might otherwise be required to provide acceptable levels of fire safety for older blocks, especially for blocks such as Lakanal House, which only have a single staircase”.
Currently just two of the borough’s 181 social housing tower blocks have sprinklers installed, the council has confirmed, as fire safety comes under scrutiny following the Grenfell Tower fire.
A spokesperson told the Hackney Citizen: “The only blocks with a fire sprinkler system are Scotney and Exbury on the Frampton Park Estate.”
This accounts for 1.1 per cent of social housing tower blocks in the borough, and means 98.9 per cent of the council’s high rise blocks do not have sprinklers installed.
Hackney Council was at first unable to say how many high-rise buildings had sprinklers when contacted by the Citizen on 15 June.
Mayor Philip Glanville revealed the number was two on Twitter the next day in response to the Citizen‘s story.
The council installed a “pioneering” sprinkler system in 258 homes in Frampton Park Estate in 2016.
Fire risk concerns were first raised by residents on the estate seven years previously.
At that time, the then cabinet member for housing Philip Glanville noted the importance of sprinkler systems, saying that “Hackney … places the risk of fire and the safety and welfare of all residents as highest priority. Hackney is once again at the forefront of resident safety with this fire sprinkler system, providing residents with an extra layer of safety in case the worst should happen.”
This article was amended at 12:55 on Friday 23 June 2017 to include the quote from Alan Cutkelvin Rees.
I have signed this petition. I also wrote a letter to the Mayor several days ago, which I append here in full.
Dear Mayor Glanville,
Following the tragic fire in the Grenfell Tower in West London, I again wish to reiterate that you and Hackney Council have the full support of the Liberal Democrats in reassuring residents and making sure we are doing everything possible to address any safety concerns in the borough.
Fire Chiefs who were dealing with the Grenfell Tower blaze have described it as unprecedented, and it is important that we express to residents that fires like this are extremely rare and safety measures are in place in similar buildings in Hackney. It is absolutely right that we reassure residents further and that we introduce steps to check that every possible measure to ensure fire safety in high-rise blocks in Hackney is functioning correctly and we welcome your announcement that these checks will be taking place.
This is not a time for party-political point scoring and we do not intend to do so. We in the Hackney Lib Dems are however getting correspondence from concerned locals and, as an opposition party in the Council, it’s our role to ensure that we hold to account the ruling party to make sure everything is done properly and with full transparency, to ensure residents can rightly scrutinise the action being taken.
We therefore call on you to communicate, as soon as possible, the following regarding the safety checks you have announced:
• A full list of which buildings are being checked
• Who will be carrying out those checks
• Exactly what checks will be completed and when they will be completed
• Full details from those checks must be made public, so residents can scrutinise the current state of fire safety in their own buildings
• A timetable be communicated to all residents detailing when any remedial works, if required to rectify any concerns, will take place and when they will be completed by.
I would also like to express my concern on reports that only two high-rise buildings have been fitted with sprinkler systems despite the 2013 coroner’s report into the Lakanal House fire advising that all high-rise blocks be retrofitted with sprinklers. You have communicated to local press that this decision was based on fire risk assessments. I recognise the practical implications of retrofitting these systems but again request that you make these risk assessments and any information used in the decision-making process public. Residents have the right to all the information in order to be able to scrutinise the decision to not fit all high-rise blocks in the borough with sprinkler systems.
My final request is that Hackney Council tell the public whether any buildings in Hackney have had cladding fitted using the same material that seems to have obviously contributed to the spread of the Grenfell Tower fire. It is crucial we identify whether any building has this type of cladding and steps are taken to ensure residents are safe.
Again I would like to express my personal full support and that of the Hackney Liberal Democrats on working together to ensure all residents are safe and reassured.
Yours Sincerely,
Dave Raval
Hackney Liberal Democrats