Sprinklers plan for Byker Wall

MOVE IN RESPONSE TO GRENFELL TOWER FIRE

Reporter PART of the Byker Wall is set to be retrofitted with sprinklers in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

The Byker Community Trust says it is carrying out the work on Tom Collins House to provide the high level of protection after the June 2017 fire which killed 71 people.

Work has already started on the iconic building as part of a £1.65m programme of improvements on Tom Collins House and the Mount Pleasant sheltered housing unit.

The cladding on the exterior of the building is also to be replaced, although the trust says it is not the aluminium composite material cladding which was identified on Grenfell Tower. Newcastle City Council had to give the go-ahead for work on the listed building, which was built between 1975 and 1978 and comprises 39 homes.

Last year, The Chronicle launched the What Price Life? campaign following the London fire, calling for better safety standards for North East high-rise residents and retrofitting of sprinkler systems.

Jill Haley, chief executive of Byker Community Trust, said: “Despite the fact that it is not a mandatory requirement of current building regulations, the sprinkler system is being installed as an additional safety measure for our tenants.

“We believe that the installation of a retrofit sprinkler system to a highrise building may be the first in the region since the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

“There are other schemes in planning but we are not aware of any where the works have actually started on site.”

The external and communal works contract has been awarded to Esh Property Services and works are expected to be completed this autumn. Sprinklers are being fitted in Tom Collins House in the Byker Wall (above) in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster, which claimed 71 lives. Inset, Grenfell Tower ablaze last June