Landlord retrofits sprinklers to 17 high-rise blocks

Charter House in Eccles, one of 17 blocks to be retrofitted with sprinklers

Landlord ForViva Group has retrofitted sprinklers to 17 high-rise blocks in Salford and Knowsley at a cost of £5m.

ForViva, which manages 24,000 homes in the north west, said it was one of the first landlords in the country to announce such a plan following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Sprinklers have been fitted into all apartments, communal areas, bin rooms and scooter storage facilities in the tower blocks, which together contain around 1,300 homes. In addition, larger water tanks have been installed with the sprinkler system having its own separate booster water supply.

ForViva took the decision after consulting with tenants, fire safety experts and regional fire and rescue services.

Colette McKune, group deputy chief executive at ForViva, said: “We took the decision to remove cladding on affected blocks and install sprinklers, not because we lacked confidence in our existing fire safety arrangements, which we had immediately reviewed, but because we knew some tenants did not feel safe in their homes.

“We worked closely with regional fire and rescue services after Grenfell, but on a national level we felt clear guidance on regulations would take some time. We listened to tenants and their concerns and felt we had to act decisively.

“We undertook this work not only to provide additional reassurance to tenants, but because we believed it was the right thing to do.”

Each tenant living in the blocks received an induction before work started and received regular updates throughout the process.