Council to spend £20m on high-rise fire safety measures

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) council is to spend £20m on fire safety measures across its high-rise housing estate in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Measures being undertaken include free replacement of faulty appliances, safety checks for every high-rise council home, free fire door replacement and restoring concierge staff on certain estates, including Edward Woods (pictured).

It would also look at installing sprinklers in tower blocks “where this would help improve safety”.

Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan said: “The fire in Kensington has made it clear that meeting minimum fire standards is not enough.

“The regulations are clearly not good enough so we will be going above and beyond what is required. We want our residents to know that we care deeply about their safety, we understand their concerns, and we will do everything it takes to keep them safe.”

Cowan said the council would be undertaking “better fire assessments than have been done in the past”, and following criticism of how Kensington & Chelsea council handled the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster, H&F would be setting up a residents’ advisory group on fire safety, to work with it on its improvement plans.

Meanwhile, former government chief construction advisor Professor Peter Hansford has been appointed by the Institution of Civil Engineers to lead an independent review of the lessons for infrastructure professionals from the Grenfell Tower fire.

Hansford’s investigation will be separate from the public inquiry being headed by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick.