City to fit sprinklers to all towers after Grenfell
SPRINKLER systems are to be fitted in all 213 Birmingham City Council tower blocks at a cost of £31 million, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The council has decided to install sprinklers and other fire safety measures to ensure there will be no tower block blaze on the scale seen in London. Council Labour leader John Clancy said surveys on the residential towers, both high-rise and lowrise blocks, will also be carried out ‘as a matter of urgency’.
Measures will then be installed in a rolling programme across the city.
He will lobby the Government for funding towards the safety measures, but has pledged to find the money and get the work done even if there is no help from Whitehall.
But the Government this week said it was ready to contribute to the cost. Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid said the Treasury could find the cash “if there is an issue with funding”. He backed the council’s plan, telling the House of Commons: “It should do whatever it believes is necessary”.
Mr Javid, the MP for Bromsgrove, said: “Birmingham like every other council, has a legal responsibility to its social tenants, so it should do whatever it believes is necessary. As I have said before, if there is an issue with funding for necessary works, we will provide the support.”
While sprinklers are installed in the rubbish stores of the council’s old tower blocks, there are currently none in the living areas.
In the light of the fire, the city council has confirmed that none of its blocks has the flammable cladding used on Grenfell Tower, which is the focus of the investigation into the tragedy. Cllr Clancy said: “As a council, we have a duty to provide the best possible fire protection for our tenants, and we will do whatever it takes to keep people safe.
“But the cost of doing this for all local authorities with tower blocks is certain to be substantial and beyond the means of austerity-hit councils to afford in a timely fashion.
“The Government should accept this is a national emergency that fully justifies establishing a fund to allow councils to fit sprinkler systems as a matter of urgency.
“If the Government fails to respond appropriately, I believe our tenants would expect work on less important building projects to be delayed so that we can make sure our tower blocks are safer places to live in. It should also be recognised that a city-wide programme to fit fire-suppression measures will generate significant employment opportunities for Birmingham, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships, and underpinning the council’s commitment to inclusive economic growth.”
The council could look for money by selling assets such as buildings or land, or divert funds from less urgent building projects. It is already the region’s largest house builder through its Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust organisation.
Cllr Clancy has written to the leaders of Britain’s eight other largest cities urging them to join him in lobbying Government for financial help.