Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, writes:
Havering Council acknowledges the publication of the final findings of the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry.
The tragic events of June 14, 2017, which claimed 72 lives, have profoundly impacted communities across the nation. Our thoughts remain with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this devastating incident.
Since the Grenfell Tower fire, Havering Council has taken significant steps to enhance the safety and well-being of our residents, both in council-managed properties and private buildings.
The Council owns and manages approximately 9,400 homes and 2,500 leasehold properties, including 15 tower blocks and over one thousand medium and low-rise blocks.
As a landlord we have a legal duty to ensure that each of these properties is safe and meets all relevant statutory requirements.
The Council has a range of measures in place to ensure regular testing and servicing of equipment, adherence to consumer standards set by the Regulator for Social Housing, and compliance with the Building Safety Act.
Havering Council has 15 tall buildings covered by the Building Safety Act, which have at least 6 storeys or are at least 18 metres in height.
All of these buildings have been registered with the Building Safety Regulator and the London Fire Brigade (LFB).
A detailed Building Safety Case File for each building has also been produced.
In response to new legislation introduced following the Grenfell Inquiry, specifically the Fire Safety Regulations 2022, we have implemented additional monitoring regimes to ensure compliance.
We have also produced a fire safety booklet for each of our tall buildings, which has been sent to each resident.
In addition to the above, we share relevant information with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and with residents as part of our resident engagement strategy.
The Council continues to work on its regeneration proposals for various locations within the borough and is taking steps, in conjunction with partners, to redesign any building over 18 metres that hadn’t started construction to ensure that they meet the new building safety standards, including the inclusion of second staircases.
In addition to the Council’s own stock, the Council has a responsibility to keep private sector housing conditions in our area ‘under review’ with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken.
Building owners have always been responsible for making sure their buildings are safe and where remedial works are required, building owners must take action without delay.
Where action is not taken, enforcement action can be taken under the Housing Act or the Building Safety Act 2022 (Remediation Orders).
A specific piece of work is underway at present to understand more about the cladding present on all privately owned high and mid-rise buildings within the borough, with progress reported at least quarterly to MHCLG. Where remedial works are needed to address any hazards found, these will be pursued with building owners.
Further to this we also recognise the need for Local Authorities to be adequately prepared and resourced for dealing with emergencies, as detailed in the report.
Since the Grenfell fire, our emergency planning and resilience arrangements have been tested by the Covid Pandemic 2020 and the Wennington Fire 2022.
We will review our arrangements in line with the recommendations of the report as well as engaging with any London wide review of resilience which may emerge from this review.
We remain dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of all our residents. We will continue to review and enhance our fire safety measures in light of the findings from the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry.
Our commitment to creating a safer living environment for everyone in our community remains our top priority.