Brent Council has posted the following statement on its website
LINK:
High-rise safety in council blocks
Many residents living in high-rise blocks across the country will
naturally be concerned so within Brent, the council and Brent Housing
Partnership (BHP) have moved quickly to do extra checks and double
checks of our high-rise blocks so that we are able to provide our
residents with the reassurances they deserve. In Brent the facts are:
- We have 37 high-rise blocks in Brent and all 37 are 100% fire risk assessment compliant.
- We have never used Rydon Limited or Harley Facades Limited, the contractors who worked on Grenfell Tower, anywhere in Brent.
- Estate inspectors and compliance experts have visited all 37 high
rise blocks, including communal areas and exit routes to remove any
remaining rubbish, bicycles and other hazards which could hinder access
and exit in an emergency.
- More than £10million has been spent over the past 4 years on
measures to reduce the risk of fires in council run properties across
the borough.
For details on all 37 high-rise blocks in Brent and the status of each of their fire risk assessments, please check the
fire safety information here. [Ed: when I last accessed it this doesn't include Quintain development in Wembley or Octavia's Elizabeth House in Wembley High Road]
Council blocks with cladding
One high-rise block, Watling Gardens, has cladding. However, the
cladding used is completely different to the cladding used at Grenfell
Tower. We have double checked and the cladding is a non-combustible
mineral wool material that would not promote the spread of flames
externally and is in compliance with current British standards. However,
we are not taking anything for granted and will also be commissioning
our own independent checks on the cladding as well and report the
results of this to residents in Watling Gardens as soon as possible.
Registered housing providers – high rise blocks
Aside from the assessments we have been carrying out across the
Council’s own housing stock, we have also been in contact with all
registered housing providers in Brent to ensure that the same thorough
assessments are being carried out on their buildings as a matter of
urgency, specifically on high-rise and cladded buildings. We have also
asked them to communicate with residents to provide them with
reassurance regarding their homes.
The list of registered providers in Brent is as follows: Family
Mosaic, Notting Hill Housing, Hyde Housing, Genesis, Innisfree, JL
Living, Catalyst, Metropolitan, Network Homes, Octavia, Origin Housing,
Homegroup and L&Q Group. We will provide links to updates on this
web page when they become available.
Private housing – high rise blocks
In terms of other private buildings and properties across the
Borough, the main developer in Brent is Quintain who we contacted
shortly after the Grenfell fire and they have confirmed that all of
their new build residential blocks meet fire safety standards. We are
waiting to hear back from other private developers in Brent and will
provide links to updates on this page as they become available.
The council, as a planning authority, is not involved in
assessing planning applications against fire safety as this is covered
by other Government legislation, in this case, Building Control
regulations. When a developer is building, they can choose whether to
use the Council as building inspectors, or an accredited inspector. If
they choose the latter, the council is not responsible for oversight of
the work.
The council regularly reviews its fire risk assessments,
servicing and maintenance programmes in all accommodation blocks and
will continue to do so to ensure our residents are always kept safe.
Once the findings from the Government’s emergency review into fire
safety in tower blocks are known we will of-course review and, if
needed, amend our fire management processes and strategy as a matter of
urgency.