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| The 2017 Daily Echo Headline That Began Our Fire Safety Campaign After the Redbridge Towers Fire |
We can exclusively reveal that Southampton City Council still has "high risk" fire safety failings in its tower blocks, seven years after the Redbridge Towers fire in early 2017.
Southampton Independents led the campaign for better fire safety in
Council tower blocks and secured a commitment from the Council for
sprinklers to be installed in all Council tower blocks.
Later that year, the Grenfell disaster occurred in London, with 72 victims.
Two years ago, we reported that there were still problems.
Now, a Southampton City Council report that we have obtained states that:
"17 high risk fire actions are overdue"The report does not state which blocks these are in, or what the risks are.
Andrew Pope, who led the campaign for sprinklers in all Council tower blocks, says:
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| Andrew Pope on ITV News after Redbridge Towers fire in 2017 |
"This news does not surprise me. I have seen the state of repair of tower blocks in the City, including Shirley Towers when I stood as a candidate in the recent by-election.
Southampton City Council is a bad landlord. I've heard so many complaints from tenants of the Council and not just in tower blocks. Even the Director of Housing has admitted it, saying and I quote:
'Over the last few years, our performance relating to our housing landlord function has fallen below an acceptable standard. We must and will do better.'
BBC Radio 5 Live initially did not believe me when I told them that the Council was failing on fire safety in its tower blocks.
So I showed their journalist Adrian Goldberg, having invited him to come to Southampton. He was shocked and published video footage on the BBC website.
Yet all these years later, the Labour-run Council still have not got a grip on fire safety. I will be writing to the Cabinet Member for Housing, Labour Councillor Andy Frampton, asking for more information and demanding action."
