Sprinklers could cost as little as £10m
FLATS ACROSS NORTH EAST COULD HAVE THE SYSTEMS RETRO-FITTED
THE Chronicle is calling on housing providers to fit our region’s high-rise tower blocks with sprinklers – a move we estimate could cost around £10m.
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, which claimed the lives of at least 80 people, it emerged that it would have cost £200,000 to retro-fit the block with sprinklers.
It’s far too early to say if sprinklers could have prevented the tragedy but the National Fire Chiefs Council is unequivocal that they are the best ways to stop fires.
According to a Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service statement from 2016, fewer than 1% of high-rise social housing tower blocks in the UK currently have sprinklers fitted within homes.
Locally, just two high-rise blocks in the North East have been retro-fitted with sprinklers.
English building regulations state that sprinklers only have to be fitted in new buildings over 30m, meaning older, higher ones don’t get them.
Our campaign – What Price Life? – calls on the Government and councils to make the upgrades happen.
It’s impossible to put a definite figure on retro-fitting at this stage but there are a number of estimates to work off.
Birmingham City Council, which has already announced its intention to retro-fit 213 blocks, estimates it will cost £31m.
Using that as a guide, that means it would cost somewhere in the region of £16m to do it for the North East’s 112 blocks.
Newcastle City Council estimates it would need to set aside around £6m to do it for the ones in its area.
Given that the vast majority of the region’s high rises are in Newcastle, that suggests the total cost could come in closer to £10m than £16m.
There are precedents for retro-fitting sprinklers in the North East.
One of them is D’Arcy Court, a 13-floor social housing block operated by Gentoo in Hendon, Sunderland.
A total of £4m was spent on modernisation work at the block, which contains 104 flats, between 2014 and 2016, but it’s unclear how much of that was spent specifically on the sprinklers.
Similarly, at Regent Court, Gateshead, retro-fitting was done in 2013/14 but Gateshead Council didn’t know precisely how much it cost.
There are, however, national estimates and examples which could shed light on the potential bill for the North East.
In 2012, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) sponsored retro-fitting work to be carried out at a 1960s tower block in Sheffield to show it could be done quickly and cheaply.
Crucially, residents didn’t have to leave their homes while work was carried out. Taking just four weeks to equip every flat in the 13-storey building with sprinklers, the average cost for each home came in at under £1,150.
However, what made it unique was that all of the flats in the block had just one bedroom, bringing the cost down.
BAFSA surveyed their members to find out an average price for sprinkler fitting in the last three years and found that it usually costs somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500 per home.
So while it’s impossible to put a precise figure on it, we believe the eventual tab would run up to and possibly beyond the £10m mark to do every block in Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead.
There are no high rises in Durham, Northumberland or North Tyneside.