Council leader calls for immediate fire safety inspection of College Bank flats

College Bank Flats

Rochdale Council leader Richard Farnell has requested Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to carry out an immediate Council leader calls for immediate fire safety inspection of College Bank flats

The call comes in the wake of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in Kensington, London.

He is also calling on the government to install sprinkler systems in all tower blocks.

Councillor Farnell said: "Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has issued a statement seeking to reassure residents of College Bank. That isn't good enough.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/110704/rbh-says-college-bank-tower-blocks-meet-all-current-fire-safety-standards

"They should undertake an immediate and rigorous safety check of the blocks following the disaster in London. Nothing less will do. There should be an immediate reassessment of evacuation procedures and advice given to tenants to ensure that in the event of a fire people can get out safely.

"Residents will be rightly worried. College Bank has an excellent safety record, but RBH must act quickly to ensure the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower could not happen here."

Councillor Farnell has written to the new housing minister Alok Sharma demanding an immediate change in the law to make tower blocks much safer and save lives.

Under current law, all new flats above three storeys in height must have a sprinkler system fitted and fire alarms in communal areas. But there is no requirement for these to be installed in existing tower blocks.

Councillor Farnell said: "The government must act now to change the law and provide the funding to allow all high rise flats to have all the essential fire safety equipment in place.

"I am not sure if College Bank has sprinklers or communal fire alarms, but given they're over 50 years old, I suspect not. It must be a priority for the government and RBH to put this right as a matter of urgency."