The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and a coalition of building safety campaign groups have sent a letter to the mayor of London and Bromley Council leader calling for the Greater London Authority and the council to prevent the building of a tower block on the site of the Blenheim Shopping Centre in Penge.
Hadley Property Group and Clarion Housing Group plan to construct a high-rise residential scheme to a height of 17.7 metres and only one staircase. Recent post-Grenfell legislation requires buildings of 18 metres and higher to have two staircases.
The letter calls for the GLA to direct Bromley Council to prevent construction until plans meet the 鈥渉ighest standards of building safety鈥�.聽
It says: 聽鈥淭he plan to construct a high-rise residential block with a height of 17.7m and only one staircase risks another fire safety disaster.
鈥淟ondon Fire Brigade (LFB) has already raised issues with the safety of the proposed building. While the building鈥檚 height complies with government鈥檚 building regulations, which states that any new residential building more than 18m high must have two staircases, the LFB's nine-point objection stated that the decision to reduce the block height to only 30cm below the threshold is not 鈥榚thically justified鈥�.
鈥淭he fire risks are almost identical as a building that is 30cm taller and would not meet the requirements of the regulations. Evacuation at Grenfell was severely hindered by the single narrow stairwell.
鈥淥ther fire safety concerns raised by LFB, which include a lack of suitable means of escape for occupants in open plan apartments and calls for a second evacuation lift, have been ignored by the developer or remain unresolved. This is a clear breach of London Plan Policy 2021 D12, which requires all developments to achieve the highest standards of fire safety.
鈥淚n light of Grenfell and the ongoing building safety crisis, it is unacceptable that Hadley Property Group and Clarion Housing Group are doing the bare minimum to meet fire safety standards.
鈥淎llowing this building to proceed sets a precedent for other developers building properties across the country to treat fire safety as an afterthought instead of the top priority.鈥�
As well as the FBU, otyher signatories include Justice for Grenfell, End Our Cladding Scandal, Tower Blocks UK, UK Cladding Action, tenants鈥� unions Acorn and the London Renters鈥� Union.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright said: "This is an attempt to cut corners and get around the building safety regulations introduced to avoid a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
"If the development goes ahead in its current form, residents of this property will only have one staircase which they can use to evacuate. This could cost lives.聽 It's vital that [London mayor] Sadiq Khan uses his powers to block this attempt to circumvent the safety improvements that were introduced in the wake of the Grenfell fire."
Bromley Council approved the scheme last year.
The design team behind the 230-apartment scheme is Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Rolfe Judd Planning, GIA Surveyors, The Townscape Consultancy and Steer.
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