More than 900 remaining fire safety actions will be completed within a year as the council moves to wrap up its borough‑wide safety programme
Kingston Council has approved a further £2.9 million to complete the 935 remaining fire safety actions out of the 4,138 identified through updated post-Grenfell requirements and routine inspections.
A spokesperson for Kingston Council said: “The council is fully committed to ensuring that these remaining items are completed as swiftly as possible.”
The new 12-month contract worth up to £2.2m has been awarded to Quinn London, which have been working with the council since 2023.
The contract award was approved by the council’s Corporate and Resources Committee on March 19, with leaders backing the move to complete the remaining works quickly.
All remaining works are expected to be completed within the next year.
The Council clarified that “these are not outstanding fire safety works arising from the Grenfell Tower fire; they are works identified through our routine inspection and maintenance programme”.
The works carried out so far have included fire door upgrades, alarm installations, improvements to emergency lighting and wider building repairs, with all critical items already completed.
Kingston Council said it was taking preventative and precautionary measures which are not linked to severe structural risks.
“It is important to note that the fire risk assessment remediation work we undertake is preventative and does not involve major, life-threatening concerns such as the removal of flammable cladding or hazardous materials, as our housing stock does not contain these,” the Council said in its statement.
The council said it regularly inspects its housing, carries out fire safety checks, and relies on maintenance teams to quickly identify and fix any health and safety risks to residents.
Liberal Democrat Council Leader Andreas Kirsch said he was glad the council are doing this work. He said:
“Given the tragic events in Grenfell, obviously fire safety has improved since then and we are upgrading our fire safety to the highest standard, so I’m really happy that we are doing this.”
The council expects to resume routine fire safety inspections once the final phase of work is completed next year.
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