Nottingham City Homes says it will install sprinklers at all of its high-rise tower block flats as an “added safety measure” following the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
The company sent letters to residents at the Victoria Centre flats on Friday (June 16) saying it would install sprinklers in the communal corridors after residents said they were concerned for their safety after the North Kensington blaze.
The company clarified its plans on Monday, telling Notts TV it will install sprinklers in all of its high-rise tower blocks – including Kingston Court, Manvers Court and Bentinck Court, in Sneinton.
The company says it will also ask residents in all of its tower blocks if they would like sprinklers installed in their individual flats.
And the company said it will also begin a three-year programme to replace the lifts in the Victoria Centre flats – after residents said they often break down.
Resident Rob Croft, who has lived in the Victoria Centre flats since 2012, said the Grenfell Tower fire had left him “very scared”.
He said Nottingham City Homes advised residents to stay in their homes in the event of a fire, as part of the national ‘stay put’ fire safety policy in many high-rise buildings.
He added: “If there’s a fire in this building I’m getting out. I’m scared if there’s a fire outside the door.
“I’m lucky I’m on the sixth floor; I’d tie sheets up and go out of the window.”
Writing on Facebook last Friday (June 16), resident Brian Harrison said the lifts “desperately need replacing” and Cerys Almera called for the company to “renovate the lifts”.
A Nottingham City Homes statement read: “We plan to install sprinklers in corridors and communal areas in all our tower blocks as an added safety measure. We will also ask residents whether they would like sprinklers installed in their flats.
“We are urgently working on a technical feasibility report which will inform timescales. We are also, like all housing organisations across the UK, collating information requested by central Government about our housing stock.
“All the properties that Nottingham City Homes manages are owned by Nottingham City Council.
“We will continue to work closely with Nottingham City Council to install sprinkler systems; both ourselves and the council believe that it’s a priority, and we believe that this is a firm base from which to move forward in the interests of all our residents.”
A separate company statement about the Victoria Centre lifts read: “We have been developing a three-year programme of works to replace the passenger lifts in the Victoria Centre for some time now.
“Works are forecast to start in early 2018, and we are developing an in-depth engagement plan to inform and involve residents throughout.”
The company owns 13 high and low-rise accommodation blocks in the city but sprinklers will only be installed in the high-rise flats, a spokesman said.
Although 69 people have been confirmed dead or missing presumed dead in the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the full death toll from the blaze last Tuesday (June 13) is still not known – but the tragedy is already one of the biggest fire disasters in British history.
