Tower block fire safety investment of £10 million agreed in Brent after Grenfell tragedy

Councillors in Brent have agreed £10 million in fire safety improvements for the borough's tower blocks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The package will see an improvement in sprinklers, smoke detectors and fire alarms rolled out across the 37 high rise council blocks in Brent.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, said: "Grenfell changed everything.

"When it comes to fire safety, 'good enough' is no longer good enough.

"Here in Brent we have 37 high rise blocks and they're all fire risk compliant.

"But we also have lots of people asking whether those rules and regulations are actually up to standard, and who can blame them?

"So we've found the money to go above and beyond what's required, to ensure that residents are safe, and feel safe, in their homes."

He added: "Obviously, eight years of austerity have not made this easy, and no doubt some will find a way to criticise our decision.

"We can't afford to wait any longer for Government to take the lead, which is why we're committing £10m to this work, right now. And if we get Government to step up and put its money where its mouth is then all the better."

A spokesman for the council said: "The £10million is in addition to the almost £10million which has already been invested in fire safety works, such as fire doors, fire detection systems, lighting and signs, in Brent blocks since 2012.

"While no council block in Brent has used the Aluminium Composite Material, which has been the subject of recent Government tests, a number of blocks run by registered housing providers in Brent have.

"The London Fire Brigade has visited these blocks and advised that evacuation of these blocks is not necessary due to the standard of fire safety measures in place in the blocks, all of which are new-builds and not retro-fitted properties."

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .