Reflecting on Grenfell Tower six years on

The Grenfell Tower fire is the worst fire in social housing history. Its ramifications are still being felt today by those who lost loved ones, the communities who are grieving, and the social housing sector.

It’s six years since the tragic events that caused the deaths of 72 people and disrupted the lives of family and community members.

The Government’s new Building Safety Act is designed to strengthen safety measures in buildings and give residents more rights, powers and protections, ultimately ensuring homes are safer.

On the anniversary of the fire, we remember those who were lost and reflect on the changes we have made since 14 June 2017 to ensure our buildings are as safe as they can be.

While much has already been accomplished, we will constantly strive to ensure all our properties are safe and secure places for our customers to live.

• We’ve continued to grow our Building Safety Team, which now comprises three Building Safety Managers, two Building Safety Co-ordinators and a Senior Project and Improvement Officer. A key part of the team’s role is engaging closely with the customers who live in our high-rise buildings.
• We’re working closely with our customers to create tailored resident engagement strategies for each of our taller buildings.
• We’ve removed cladding materials from one high-rise and two medium-rise buildings, at no cost to customers. We’ve also carried out risk surveys and identified a further three buildings requiring work, which we expect to be complete by September.
• We’ve started to register our high-rise buildings with the new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and are providing key information about those properties and the people who live there.

• We’re preparing evidence for a Safety Case Report submission to the BSR. This is a detailed assessment of building safety risks for the properties we have registered, with detail of all the measures in place to manage and mitigate those risks.
• Our rigorous Building and Fire Safety Skills audit has continued, and we have training planned to further enhance the skills of frontline colleagues in our Property Services teams.

Jenny Harris, our Head of Building Safety, said: “There is a shared commitment across Sanctuary to delivering secure homes and safer high-rise buildings for our customers.

“We always take time to reflect on the fundamental reasons behind that work – and the anniversary of the terrible events at Grenfell offers a fitting and poignant moment to do so.”