All high rise blocks in Southwark undergoing technical inspections for fire safety

All blocks of flats of seven storeys or more in Southwark will have undergone a rigorous, technical inspection of fire risks in the coming weeks as part of the council's work to improve fire safety in the borough.

Southwark Council has put aside £19 million for fire safety works that arise from the checks.

The council is the capital's largest local authority landlord with responsibility for more than 55,000 properties including 182 blocks of seven storeys or more.

The council has Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) for all the buildings that need one, but following a review of its fire safety checks, it decided to conduct more detailed intrusive and technical inspections, which involve looking at the fabric of the building, under ceilings and behind walls if necessary.

The inspections are carried out by independent fire experts and are set to be completed by 19 April. Following the inspections, works are commissioned to address any risks.

Before FRAs are published on the council's website, tenant and resident associations are given the opportunity to discuss the fire risk assessment and any identified risks.

The total cost of the checks themselves is £192,000. In 2009/10 the council allocated £4 million for fire safety works that resulted from these checks. It has now put aside a further £5 million a year for the next three years.

Alongside this work, an internal specialist Fire Safety Team is carrying out technical fire risk assessments on all five and six storey blocks, as well as on any blocks lower than five storeys that have been escalated on a risk-based approach. This programme of FRAs is due to be completed in May.

Cllr Kim Humphreys, Southwark Council executive member for housing said: "This approach is neither cheap nor easy, but we take fire safety extremely seriously and will not cut corners when it comes to making sure our blocks meet the highest possible standards of fire safety."

"In some cases the inspections describe buildings as having "substantial risk". I would like to reassure residents that we have acted quickly and urgently to reduce any risks, and a considerable amount of work across the borough has already been carried out. "

"In fact many of the issues, such as blocked escapes, were dealt with even before the FRA was submitted, and we have a plan in place to respond to the rest.  A programme of work has been drawn up, which will see every point in the FRAs addressed and the buildings brought up to the highest possible standards when it comes to protecting against the spread of fire."