Following the tragic events in Kensington, Caroline Dinenage MP has written to both Gosport and Fareham Borough Council to ensure that everything possible has been done to prevent a similar tragedy taking place in Gosport.
Fareham Borough Council (FBC) has emphasised that it does not own any 'high rise' properties, i.e. flat blocks exceeding 18 metres in height. Its low-rise property stock is subject to regular property inspection regime which includes a fire safety/risk assessment. FBC will continue with this approach while it awaits the findings of the investigation at Grenfell Tower.
The only high-rise property in the Fareham part of the Gosport constituency is Mitre Court, which is owned by Vivid Homes. The Chief Executive has reassured FBC that Vivid has appropriate and robust measures in place to ensure this development meets fire safety standards, which are kept under constant review. He also confirmed that Mitre Court has no cladding. For further information please contact Andrew Wannell at awannell@fareham.gov.uk.
Gosport Borough Council (GBC) has similarly emphasised that the insulation systems used by their properties are significantly different from the 'screen' style cladding used at Grenfell. The system used by GBC is fixed against the structure, removing any risk of the suspected chimney effect seen with this recent incident. The external render face that the Council uses is designated and tested as Class "0", or low risk. This means there is little or no risk for a flame being able to generate or spread across the face of the render.
Gosport Borough Council assured Caroline that Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) are carried out on all council-owned blocks in compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. An independent company, Energy Footprint, carry out the FRAs for the sheltered blocks, while the FRAs for the other general needs properties are carried out by an in-house team of surveyors. The recommendations that come from these reports are assessed for priority and any necessary works are then fulfilled by the Repairs Contractor. For further information, please contact Julie Smith at julie.smith@gosport.gov.uk.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is working closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council to carry out immediate and full fire safety audits of any buildings that fail initial fire safety tests, carried out by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). All high-rise buildings with cladding are subject to these BRE tests, under Department for Local Government protocol. In addition to this, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is preparing to audit all high rise buildings in the county, with the primary focus of this being the integrity of the internal fire compartmentation. Good internal compartmentation is necessary if the 'stay put' policy – which has been widely discussed following the Grenfell tragedy - is to be safely followed.
Caroline will continue working with both Gosport and Fareham Borough Councils, as well as Hampshire County Council, as more information about the Grenfell Tower tragedy comes to light, to ensure that families across Gosport are properly protected.