‘Make sprinklers compulsory’

City council leader Simon Cook has made a fresh call to the government for it be made compulsory for timber-framed buildings to be fitted with sprinklers.

The Conservative has been pushing for the change since a blaze tore through Canterbury’s Tannery estate in 2015, but is renewing his demand in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed at least 79 lives.

He argues that local authorities are unable to force developers to install sprinklers in new buildings and is calling for this to be reviewed.

Exactly two years ago on Tuesday, a blaze tore through 30 timber-framed flats in the Tannery block.

The council has urged developer Town & Country Housing to install sprinklers during the ongoing rebuild, but the pleas have been ignored.

The housing firm argues that the fire detection systems installed are “more than suffi- cient” for a low-rise building of that type.

Cllr Cook said: “We are unable to stipulate sprinklers in timberframed buildings when granting planning permission.

“Although we can, and do, strongly recommend sprinklers to developers, we cannot require them as this is not within the building regulations guidance.

“Last year, Canterbury City Council lobbied the government on this issue via our then MP Julian Brazier.”

Cllr Cook is now taking the matter further and has written to Sajid Javid, secretary of state for communities and local government, calling for the guidance to be reviewed and for the regulations to be amended to allow officials to make it a legal requirement that sprinklers are fitted when timber-framed homes are built.

“After the devastating fire at Grenfell House, there is a renewed attention on fire safety and the measures that can be used to prevent fires, especially in construction,” he added.

His calls follow demands by Lib Dem councillor Mike Dixey, who says developers in Canterbury should be shamed into installing sprinklers in multi-storey buildings.

In last week’s Gazette, he urged the council to add more pressure on firms to fit them.

He met with city council chief executive Colin Carmichael and fellow party leaders to discuss building safety.

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Picture: Gary Browne Cllr Simon Cook, leader of Canterbury City Council, is calling for sprinklers to be made compulsory in all timber-framed buildings; part of the Tannery complex was devastated by fire two years ago