A London borough council has reportedly spent more than £4 million on interim fire safety measures at its tower blocks, including waking watches, while it undergoes fire safety repairs
As reported by Poplar London, September 2024 City Hall figures suggest that Tower Hamlets has the highest number of tower blocks across London with an “interim simultaneous evacuation strategy” in place.
Intended as a temporary measure until remediation work, such as the installation of a new alarm system, can be carried out, concerns have been raised over efficiency after figures show that some waking watches have lasted up to two years.
In one case, Latham House in Stepney had a waking watch in place between 2022 and 2024 at a cost of £1.6 million, with a new alarm system listed as the only fire safety repair work being carried out, costing just over £185,000.
One resident at Waterview House shared with the media outlet that a waking watch was in place for ten months before repairs involving internal fireproofing to communal window panels were carried out. The repair cost was cited at around £24,000, while the cost of the watch was more than £725,000.
A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets said: “The safety of our residents is our key priority. Waking watches are an important measure to protect residents in buildings with significant fire risks until permanent solutions are in place. Based on advice from an external fire engineer, the waking watch at Waterview House has now been lifted. We appreciate our residents’ patience as we work towards finding a solution for the outstanding necessary works.”
More statistics can be viewed on the Poplar London website.
In 2022, the London Fire Brigade clarified that waking watches were “not imposed by the fire service” and were put in place by the responsible person of the building:
“While the Brigade has a role in enforcing fire safety legislation, it does not make a decision on which interim measures are put in place in a building. However, the Brigade’s fire safety inspectors will not leave an unsafe building without any safety measures in place due to the significant risk to residents.
“The Brigade accepts that in some cases a waking watch is the only viable option until a common alarm is fitted, other than evacuating the whole building.”
As previously reported by the FPA, in December 2023, the then Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) extended its deadline for its Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 until March 2024, with applications then reopened until the end of 2024. A further £2 million was added to the £18.6 million fund to address the “installation of a common alarm system replacing waking watch measures in all residential buildings where a waking watch is currently in place in England, regardless of where the costs of the waking watch fall”.
As part of its Remediation Acceleration Plan, the new government shared its commitment to continue the fund to ensure residents were protected from the costs of interim measures:
“We know that inefficient waking watch measures are still being used too often, and in too many cases, costs continue to be passed onto leaseholders.
“To assure residents that we will help to end the need for waking watches swiftly, we are extending the Waking Watch Replacement Fund until the end of March 2026 and will confirm long-term plans at the next stage of the spending review.
“The fund has already provided alarms in 346 high risk buildings. We estimate the fund has saved affected leaseholders on average £172pcm and it has played a role in preventing residents being evacuated from their homes.”