Agenda item

The report of Chief Officer Housing Management seeks Ward Councillor nominations from the Community Committee to the Inner West and Inner North West Housing Advisory Panels (HAPs)

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Officer, LCC Housing Management, sought nominations from the Community Committee to the Inner West and Inner North West Housing Advisory Panels (HAP’s). One Ward Member from each of the Bramley & Stanningley and Armley wards was sought for the Inner West HAP with up to one Ward Member from the Kirkstall Ward sought for the Inner North West HAP.

In introducing the item, Councillor Venner referred to the recent fatal fire at Grenfell Tower, London and invited officers from Leeds City Council Resources & Housing to provide an update on the current situation in respect of Leeds’ high rise homes.

Lynne Hampshire, Patrick Gibbons (Corporate Fire Safety Manager) and David Longthorpe (Head of Housing Management) attended the meeting and provided an update and also reassurance, on the actions being taken since the Grenfell Tower fire:

·  Checks undertaken on the cladding systems used on 22 of Leeds’ blocks showed that none of the systems were comparable to those at Grenfell Tower.

·  Reassurance was also provided on the ‘compartmentation’ system used in Leeds high rise blocks, established in order to contain fires.

·  A fire safety leaflet had been drafted in conjunction with West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and distributed to high rise residents on 16/6/17

Additionally, the Committee was provided with information on the work done throughout the year including daily inspections to identify and remove hazards along with detailed fire inspections undertaken on a rota basis.

Discussion followed on:

-  The ‘stay put if it is safe to do so’ advice to high rise tenants – to allow the emergency services access to stairwells;

-  How information is transmitted to tenants in the event of a fire/emergency and who takes responsibility for communication;

-  Whether future leaflets could be produced in accordance with Institute for the Blind Guidelines, although the committee appreciated that the production of the additional leaflet had been done at very short notice and in response to the Grenfell Tower fire;

-  Sprinkler installation, noting that installation had been prioritised for those 8 blocks housing elderly and/or vulnerable tenants; sprinklers were installed within every apartment in these blocks. In other blocks, sprinklers were installed in shared/communal areas particularly bin-chutes and storage;

-  Whether high rise housing was appropriate for elderly tenants or tenants with limited mobility;

-  Whether the WYFRS Firefly scheme was still in operation and could it be promoted – a reflective safety marker system fitted on the base of external/internal doors and door frames, to identify rooms where vulnerable people sleep which are visible to fire fighters in normal or low light levels and atmospheres with high concentrations of smoke or dust.

The Committee also received assurance that the current measures in place were sufficient and had been successful in the past at dealing with fires in high rise accommodation.

Additionally, in response to a query from Councillor Lowe regarding Burnsall Court, officers confirmed they were due to attend a meeting with residents on Friday 23^rd June 2017.

RESOLVED –

a)  To thanks officers and note the contents of the informative presentation

b)   That the following appointments be made:

Inner West HAP

Councillor Kevin Ritchie - Bramley and Stanningley ward

Councillor Jim McKenna - Armley ward

Inner North West HAP:

Councillor John Illingworth – Kirkstall ward