Raising The Standards was appointed to inspect a property which is part of a new build development of flats in Northampton. Severe defects in all the properties within the block regarding fire protection standards and more were discovered in the inspection. In light of tragic events such as Grenfell Towers, a lack of response from the developer and a total failure to rectify the issues as yet, we were compelled to share our findings with a wider audience. We recently spoke about the findings from our inspection report to a local newspaper, The Northampton Chronicle & Echo, and is detailed below.
Private building inspectors say a new apartment block in Northampton is a ‘death trap’ after finding barely any fire protection between the homes.
Occupants have already started to move into Lea Valley Homes’ Victoria Gate development in St James Park Road. The 44 one and two bedroomed flats are being offered on a shared ownership scheme.
But a report commissioned by one of the new occupants has uncovered some worrying findings.
A spokesman from its authors, Raising the Standard (RTS), even told the Chronicle and echo: “God forbid if there is a fire in there. Everyone is going to die.”
RTS was only commissioned to produce a report on one property at the development. But a spokesman for the firm said they were so concerned by the 72 issues they found, they decided to inspect the communal areas of the building as well.
Their report revealed that none of the fireboards in the central stairwell had been sealed with a flame retardant product called mastic. This sort of protection offers occupants an hour ‘escape time’ should a fire be raging outside their flat.
Fireboard Between Properties Shows No Mastic Sealant Used
Conversely, it is also designed to keep any blaze contained to a single flat.
But RTS says this oversight leaves a fire free to move from apartment to apartment.
Gaps between the flat doors and frames are meant to only be 4 millimetres under fire regulations – but RTS says all of the doors in the home they inspected had a wider gap.
In one case it was up to 10 millimetres, which they say would allow smoke to seep through much quicker.
“Put it this way, if there was a fire in my flat, within minutes it would be raging in yours a well,” said the spokesman.
“It is a timber frame development as well.
“This is not scaremongering in any way. Regulations put in place long before Grenfell have been breached here.
“It’s a death trap.”
RTS has decided to go public about the report because it was concerned at Lea Valley Homes’ slow response to their findings. The housing supplier says the development passes all fire safety regulations – though it has conceded there are a number of ‘snagging’ items that need to be fixed.
RTS sent the findings to their client on June 11 and these were immediately passed on to Lea Valley Homes. Yet, two months later the fireboards have not yet been sealed and the doors still have too big a gap.
Phase one of the development was finished in early 2019 and was signed off by the building regulators Premier, though RTS believes the regulator must have missed the fact sealant was missing. The company has passed on its findings to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
A spokeswoman for the parent company of Lea Valley Homes, the Aldwyck Housing Group, said: “We’d like to reassure our customers and the local community that our Victoria Gate development in Northampton fully complies with current Building Control Fire Regulations.
This is a stringent legal assessment that ensures properties are safe to live in. We also carry out our own Fire Risk Assessment. Customer safety is our priority.
We are aware of a number of snagging items and our Customer Care Team are working with customers and contractors to prioritise and resolve these. The development is also covered by the Premier Guarantee warranty.
We want customers to feel safe and enjoy their homes and have written to our customers at Victoria Gate to reassure them.
The inspectors have passed on their findings to the HSE.
