THE ENFIELD Council will be installing 54 high rise tower blocks with sprinklers and work set to start in the New Year. The project is expected to cost £8 million in total, working out to be £3,000 per tower block and the council will be footing the bill. However the Council is lobbying for the government to fund the project with the scheme set up after the tragic aftermath of the Grenfell Tower in Kensington and Chelsea claiming the lives of 71 people back in June.
Although the blocks in Enfield are fire resistant and comply with all the safety regulations, the new scheme will increase the speed of dealing with the fire quicker, this will help to ensure that the residents are kept as safe as possible.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing & Housing Regeneration, Cllr Ahmet Oykener, said: “We take the safety of all of our residents extremely seriously and although our high rise blocks are extremely safe, we think it is sensible and proportionate to install sprinkler systems in them to further reduce the likelihood of a serious fire breaking out.
“The Grenfell Tower fire shocked the nation and it would be a complete dereliction of duty for us to do nothing in the aftermath of that terrible tragedy. We have already reviewed fire safety in every single one of our high rise blocks and even though they are fully compliant with existing fire regulations we feel it is right and proper to install sprinkler systems to enable more effective firefighting in these blocks and to reassure residents that we take their safety extremely seriously.
“We’re building strong communities and we are demonstrating to residents that we’ve got their backs and we’ll do what needs to be done to keep them safe.”