FOCUS
Golden thread
It came to light8
in June 2017 that a fire resistant
version of the cladding used on Grenfell Tower would have cost just £5,000 more, demonstrating how cost had been put before safety. This is further juxtaposed by the 2019 unveiling of the refurbished Balfron Tower in Tower Hamlets, now an exclusive development of 146 luxury flats fitted with the latest fire protection equipment. English Heritage’s requirements for this were
to restore the original brutalist structure, while bringing the building up to modern standards. Formerly designed by Ernö Goldfinger (who also designed Trellick Tower) and built in 1967 as social housing, Balfron was sold off by the housing association that owned it due to the high cost of refurbishing the building for its existing social tenants.
Safety is a right
David Parr, director of policy and technical services at the British Safety Council, said9
in
July 2019: ‘Everyone has a fundamental right to be safe and feel safe within their home and it is absolutely correct that residents should be at the very heart of the process that provides this assurance. The issue of resident safety requires a culture change in order to ensure stakeholders have an effective and participative role in building safety management.’ The only way to achieve this cultural change is to establish complete openness
30 JUNE 2020
www.frmjournal.com
between landlords and residents for all fire safety equipment and its upkeep. In her report, which was commissioned by the
government, and released in December 2017, Dame Judith Hackitt called for a ‘golden thread’ of information to ensure that disasters such as the Grenfell Tower fire will not be repeated. She highlighted that ensuring the transparency and compliance of fire safety equipment and maintenance in residential buildings is essential to ease the public distrust in high rise buildings. This idea was continued by David Parr in
his statement: ‘It is essential to take a holistic approach to ensuring a catastrophic event such as Grenfell never happens again. There must be cross-learning and knowledge sharing to ensure all duty holders are fully aware and proactive in their responsibilities, while working with residents and building occupiers.’ Giving residents oversight of the equipment in their building, and proof that it’s being effectively maintained, is the only way to help build trust within communities and ensure that residents feel safe in their homes. Every time a fire breaks out, it undermines a landlord’s credibility and increases residents’ fear. If landlords get it right however, they will be
able to provide peace of mind for all involved by showing the correct equipment is installed, regularly serviced and within its expiry date. To do this, landlords must have a holistic view of what equipment exists, what work needs to be
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