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Tue March 19 2024

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Councils told to gather more data on tower block systems

19 Jul 19 The government has directed all local authorities and housing associations to compile details of external wall materials and insulation on all high-rise residential buildings in their area.

Grenfell Tower, after the refurbishment that made it so deadly
Grenfell Tower, after the refurbishment that made it so deadly

Neil O’Connor, director of the Building Safety Programme at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), has written to all local authority chief executives seeking their co-operation. Funding will be made available for the exercise, he said.

In his letter Mr O’Connor explains: “The Building Safety programme continues to consider safety risks to high-rise buildings and supports action if there is a risk to public safety. The department is therefore asking all local authorities to complete a data collection exercise to identify external wall materials and insulation on all high-rise residential buildings 18 metres and over within their area.

“This exercise is part of an ongoing programme of work to enable the department to build a more complete picture of high-rise residential buildings and the variety of external wall systems in use. This will help local authorities and fire & rescue services to prioritise their inspection and protection work to ensure that building owners are taking the right steps to keep their residents safe.

“It will also provide an evidence base for the new regulatory arrangements proposed in our recent consultation Building a Safer Future: proposals for reform of the building safety regulatory system.”

Problems with ccertain types of ladding and insulation on high-rise buildings were exposed after the Grenfell Tower fire in London back in June 2017.

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MPU
MPU

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