Sprinklers in Wandsworth Council Tower Blocks

I have lived on Level 5 (10th floor) of Turpin House as a private tenant for almost 10 years. The building is solid concrete and therefore safe from fire spreading. It is not necessary to install sprinklers in the flats. It will cause my private landlord to increase my rent, which I cannot afford. Your sincerely Gerald Waters

7 years ago Featured

There has been no consultation whatsoever from Wandsworth Council. and no attempt to explain what and why they are proposing this. Where is the technical and professional evidence supporting the installation please?

There has been no consolation whatsoever from Wandsworth Council. This is not correct protocol, disrespectful and a clear attempt to bypass proper consultation. The letter that Ian Stewart of the Council recently sent leaseholders was misleading and does not clearly explain what the implications are for leaseholders. An underhand tactic.

I oppose the installation of sprinklers without due consultation. The installation in concrete blocks is an unnecessary expense and is basically the Council trying to cover its back at the expense of the leaseholders

There are other fire safety issues which are more relevant to the blocks than imposing these sprinklers

Unnecessary, our blocks are concrete. The blocks have been here for over 50 years, please show me where has ever been a fire that has not been contain in the flat.

No, no, no, no 'taxation without representation' !

Do Tenants and Leaseholders not now have the right to be consulted on a block by block basis as per Sadiq Khan's Resident Ballot Requirement of 18th July?

More or less for all the reasons given by everyone else!

I am a leaseholder and feel that we have not been consulted properly at all. I feel the council are going about this in a very underhanded way. Many residents in our block (including myself) have signed a petition to say that we do not agree to how the council is operating in this matter. There are many more important fire safety issues in the block that need to be addressed before we could even think about sprinklers. Personally, I totally object to sprinklers being installed in my flat. Martin Walsh (Ethelburga Tower)

I think the sprinkler system should be a case-by-case decision as I see no evidence for it being necessary in our block of flats

I view installation of sprinklers in our block in particular as completely unnecessary due to the design of the building. It has a safe escape core and in case of fire trapping is virtually impossible.

I am completely against the costly and unnecessary installation of sprinklers in my block. I worry about damage to my property during installation and through poor maintenance, and the unsightliness of a protruding sprinkler system which has not been incorporated into the original design of the flat. While I appreciate WBC's concern for residents of the borough, fire risk and safety should be assessed on a block-by-block basis.

I own a leasehold flat in Cadnam Point. I am against the installation of sprinklers in every room in the flat on the basis that there should be a 1. a proper fire risk assessment for each block to ensure that sprinklers will make a meaningful contribution to reaching the overall fire risk for each building and 2. proper consultation with residents about controls proportionate to their building - not one size fits all policy currently being proposed. 3. Consideration of a range of other methods of fire control such as radio communcation/tannoy system, smoke alarms in communal areas, fire doors, sprinklers in communal areas. 4. In the light of the above proper consultation about the apportionment of the costs between the council and leaseholders. 5. Proper consideration if a sprinkler system is to be installed about how to install it in the least intrusive way, both from appearance and fitting. 6. Include tenants and council residents in the consultation - not just leaseholders.

Knee-jerk reaction by WBC not based on any evidence that our block requires sprinklers. The two fires in our concrete block over the last 30 years were self-contained within the properties and did not spread. We don’t have cladding. Focus should be on basic fire-prevention: smoke alarms; door closers; fire doors; ensuring that no items are left in communal areas which could be trip hazards etc. Unbelievable that WBC have not even consulted, and diabolical the way the information was relayed to residents: confusing; not enough notice and no advice on how to obtain advice etc for those who may need extra help in understanding/completing the forms etc

What has WBC done to explore other options for example fitting fire extinguishers? What is the current WBA surplus and why, if WBA insist on doing the work, can’t the costs be met from that?

Who is going to be accountable and what would the compensation for failure to install or maintain the sprinklers be?

Rather than sprinkler systems, the council should take responsibility for maintaining the block. A thorough fire safety plan should be within the Council preventative planned Maintenance not a reaction of some political propaganda or reputation. I pay the mortgage on my property therefore I should be able to decide what goes in it. To retrofit sprinklers in a block is a huge project which is unnecessary and will ruin our interiors, considering that the works will be done by the Council I wouldn't expect them to care about the ascetics of my property since they have not been in it, we will be left with the bill to pay for something I didn't want. I wouldn't even want them even if they were free.

I do not want these sprinklers in my flat particularly as I've seen no evidence of the need for them. The decision whether a bulding needs sprinklers should be made on a block by block basis with each building having a proper fire risk assessment. I live in a concrete and brick building with no cladding. So where is the evidence or examples of fire spreading in a block like this? One day the building was presumably considered safe and the next it isn't. That's hardly a considered approach. This blanket decision to fit sprinklers in all flats will bring serious disruption, cost and misery to many people - completely unecessarily.

Thank you for the consultation on the Council's proposals for the installation of a fire suppressing water sprinkler system in tower blocks of 10 or more storeys. My flat is situated on the ground floor of the block adjacent to the final exit. I therefore feel that the proposals would not improve my fire safety in any way given the location of my flat and the structure of the block which is of concrete construction of 1950’s design and build. There is no combustible cladding on the building. Building Regulations do not require a sprinkler system. I am concerned that the low fire risk my flat presents does not justify the likely cost of the proposals, although these costs have not been specified in your consultation documents. It does not appear that these proposals are based on risk. A copy of a current Fire Risk Assessment justifying these proposals was not included in your consultation documents. For these reasons I object to the proposals to install a fire suppressing sprinkler system.