The Fire Brigades Union and building safety campaign groups have sent a letter to Sadiq Khan and Bromley Council leader Colin Smith, calling for the Greater London Authority and the council to prevent the building of an unsafe tower block in Penge, London.
In light of new building safety regulations which state that tower blocks over 18m high must have two staircases, developers reduced the height of the planned tower block to just 30cm below the threshold.
Despite the London Fire Brigade stated that reducing the block to 17.7m to avoid the need for a second staircase is ‘not ethically justified’, submitting a nine-point objection on fire safety grounds, Bromley Council has given the development a green light.
Evacuation of the Grenfell Tower was found to have been hindered by the tower having only one narrow stairwell.
The letter calls for the GLA to direct Bromley Council to prevent construction until plans meet the “highest standards of building safety”.
Organisations campaigning for safer tower blocks following the Grenfell Tower tragedy have signed, describing the plans as risking another fire safety disaster and setting a precedent for developers across the country.
Justice for Grenfell, End Our Cladding Scandal, Tower Blocks UK, UK Cladding Action have all backed the call for action, alongside tenants’ unions ACORN and London Renters’ Union and local residents’ groups including the Penge Preservation Society.
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.
"It's vital that Sadiq Khan uses his powers to block this attempt to circumvent the safety improvements that were introduced in the wake of the Grenfell fire."
ENDS
NOTES
Contact: [email protected] or call 07825635224
The letter in full: (PDF here)
Dear Mr Khan and Mr Smith,
We are writing to you as representatives of workers in the fire and rescue service, building safety and housing campaigners, and local residents about our serious concerns with the plans for a high-rise development at Blenheim Shopping Centre in Penge.
The plan to construct a high-rise residential block with a height of 17.7m and only one staircase risks another fire safety disaster.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) has already raised issues with the safety of the proposed building. While the building’s height complies with government’s 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 ‘ethically justified’.
The 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.
Other 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.
In 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.
Allowing 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.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry laid bare the impact of poor and reckless decision-making where profit was put before lives. Lessons must be learnt.
Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, declared in the House of Commons on 26 February 2025 that “To have anyone anywhere living in an unsafe home is one person too many. That will be our guiding principle, and it must be that of anyone who wants to build or care for our homes.” These promises must be upheld by politicians at all levels of government.
We urge the Greater London Authority to use its powers to direct Bromley Council to look at these plans again and prevent construction from taking place until they meet the highest standards of fire safety.
Yours Sincerely,
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union General Secretary
David Shek, Fire Brigades Union London Executive Council Member
End Our Cladding Scandal
Mrs Ritu Saha, UK Cladding Action Group Co-founder
Justice4Grenfell
Tower Blocks UK
Suz Munna, Social Housing Action Campaign Secretary and Co-Founder
ACORN the Union
London Renters Union Coordinating Group
Martin Wicks, Labour Campaign for Council Housing Secretary
Lee Knights, Penge Preservation Society
