More residents than ever to benefit from sprinklers in their homes as Nottingham City Council funds fire safety improvements in their housing stock.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, Nottingham City Council agreed an £8.5 million fire safety enhancement programme. Nottingham City Homes manages the Council’s housing stock and has overseen fire safety works in low-rise and high-rise blocks across the city.
The programme of works, which is nearing completion, has led to sprinklers being installed in over 1500 properties across 13 high rise blocks.
Some of the low-rise blocks managed by Nottingham City Homes were retrofitted with sprinklers before 2017 and new developments routinely now include sprinklers.
This work is in addition to separate fire safety works announced earlier this month for flats in the Bestwood area of the city which will see specialist adaptations provided for residents with visual or hearing impairments.
Costing over £750,000, the funding for this additional work will come from the Council’s own Housing Revenue Account capital programme.
Cllr Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage at Nottingham City Council, said:
“Since the terrible tragedy at Grenfell, we have undertaken a huge amount of work with our local partners to enhance the fire safety of our buildings. All of our council high-rise blocks have fire risk assessments in place and are fully compliant with current regulations. We have installed sprinkler systems, and upgraded the fire alarms, intercoms and communication equipment. This programme of fire safety improvements will offer further reassurance to the people living in our high rise blocks.”
Nick Murphy, Chief Executive at Nottingham City Homes, said:
“Thanks to all our tenants and leaseholders for letting us into their homes to carry out this work. Our specialist team at NCH have done a fantastic job installing these sprinklers. Whilst this is an important milestone, we are not complacent when it comes to the safety of our residents. Fire safety is everyone’s responsibility, and by working closely with our residents we can ensure everyone feels safe in their home.”