Dudley Council ordered to carry out vital safety checks on three blocks of flats

The Health and Safety Executive’s Building Safety Regulator served enforcement notices on the council for Kennedy Court and Baylie Court in Stourbridge and Tenbury House in Halesowen.

The regulator refused to issue building assessment certificates for the blocks after concluding the council had not completed adequate inspections and based some assessments on a different building.

A notice for Baylie Court, from building safety regulator Jordan Sugrue, said: “Your assessment of the building safety risks, in particular risks arising from spread of fire, is not suitable and sufficient.

“Only a visual inspection of the compartmentation has taken place within this premises. Considering the building is over 60-years-old this is not suitable or sufficient to fully assess any risks.

“The information within the Safety Case Report is not sufficient to evidence that the compartmentation standard is sufficient to support a stay put evacuation strategy.”

The council’s assessment of the risk of structural failure is also condemned by the regulator who added: “The structural information provided in the Safety Case Report is based on a visual survey carried out at ground floor and first floor levels only.

“The Safety Case Report does not identify the key structural elements of the building.”

Councillor Phil Atkins, Dudley cabinet member for development and regulation, said: “The notices have been served under new legislation.

“This is a widespread national issue; we are not alone in receiving such notices and this work feeds into our plan for addressing the needs of all our high-rise blocks.

“We are already working at pace to gather the required additional building survey information and information to tenants around fire safety.

“This does not mean the buildings are in a dangerous state.”

The same concerns were raised about Kennedy Court where the regulator said: “The assessment of compartmentation has been limited to a visual inspection and what is known about the original construction of the building.”

Tenbury House in Halesowen is also the subject of an enforcement notice where the regulator told the council: “You have failed to undertake an assessment of the building safety risks of structural failure.”

The council failed to identify key structural elements of the building and the regulator found other structural information provided was based on Malvern House, a similar building on the same estate.

An assessment on fire safety at Tenbury House was not suitable and sufficient.

The regulator found information on compartmentalisation of a fire, which would impact on evacuation strategies, was ‘based on original building construction and a construction audit carried out on Malvern house which is a similar block’.

Following the damning reports the council’s cabinet held a meeting behind closed doors to urgently approve hiring a specialist contractor to carry out compliant surveys.

The decision was rubber-stamped without any debate at a meeting of full council on March 2.

A Dudley Council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service early survey feedback has not identified any problems that require immediate attention.

The spokesperson added when the council submitted their surveys the criteria was not specific and has become more transparent in the last twelve months while the council has carried out all statutory inspections and the new tests do not indicate non-compliance.

Cllr Atkins said: “If our surveys identify the need for any improvement works, we will also address these at pace.

“I wish to reassure our tenants that our buildings are safe and we are working quickly to comply with the regulator.”

Dudley has until April 6 to comply with the notices on fire safety and July 6 to comply with the notices on structural safety.

Dudley Council will not release the cost of the new surveys it said due to commercial sensitivity.