Grenfell Inquiry Chair Demands End To 'Stay Put' Advice For All High-Rises

Hundreds of thousands of people who live in tower blocks should be prepared to evacuate in the event of a fire, according to a key demand made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the chair of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry. In what fire safety experts said would be a significant change to the default advice for most tower blocks that residents should stay put, he told ministers to develop national guidelines for total or partial evacuation of towers and to make it illegal for owners and managers of high-rise buildings not to draw up evacuation plans. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/30/grenfell-inquiry-chair-demands-evacuation-plan-all-high-rises

ALMO Flood Tenants Cannot Return

Tenants of an ALMO who were evacuated from their homes due to damage from flooding cannot return to their flats for ‘several months’.  Your Homes Newcastle had to evacuate two blocks of 18 flats at Hareside Walk and Hareside Close in Newburn outside Newcastle after the foundations of a neighbouring apartment block were washed away.  A burst culvert meant that privately owned Spencer Court was evacuated for fear it would collapse. The 31,000-home ALMO said that the access road and adjacent land is unsafe, and any more extreme weather could cause further problems.  YHN said tenants will be unable to access their homes whilst work is underway to repair the culvert and stabilise the land around the flats – and this ‘may take several months to complete’.  Read more on the YHN website.