By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
Council flats across Mansfield will get better security and fire safety if a multimillion pound contract is approved.
A Mansfield District Council report requesting £2.5 million is spent on door improvements will be discussed in a meeting next Tuesday (October 8).
If approved, the sum would be awarded to F. Bamford (Engineering) Limited, known as Bamford Doors, to replace the main doors of all flat blocks with communal access owned by the council across the district.
It follows fire risk assessments on more than 240 flat blocks discovering most do not have controlled door access.
A council report says this makes council flats more vulnerable to theft, arson, anti-social behaviour and rough sleeping as anyone can enter.
The new doors would include intercom systems to provide controlled access and increase safety across the entire premises.
Works have already started across 41 three-storey flat blocks, where the potential new contract would continue the rest of the project.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, the government and social housing sector have worked towards providing safer homes for residents.
The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 intends to protect tenants with stricter regulations on social housing landlords, having them comply with new standards that help to avoid hazards in properties.
Councillor Anne Callaghan (Lab), the council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “Clearly our housing investment wasn’t put in, in past years, so now we need to be investing in them – it’s going to benefit everyone in the community.
“It’s to ensure these flats are safe for residents, so they don’t come in and somebody’s on the stairwell – it’s to ensure security which is a big thing in some of our deprived areas.”
A final decision on the approval of the contract is expected at a Mansfield District Council meeting on Tuesday (October 8).
