SEVEN blocks of flats in Basingstoke have failed fire safety checks in the last twelve months, The Gazette can reveal. 

It comes one month after this newspaper reported how Crown Heights, on Alencon Link, has been deemed a threat to public safety due to its flammable cladding. 

Seven out of the 14 apartment blocks in Basingstoke that are more than six storeys tall have failed fire safety checks, brought in after the Grenfell Tower blaze killed 72 people in 2017. 

This includes penthouses in the 24-metre high Cherry, Holly and Elm blocks on Winterthur Way.

Residents are now facing hefty bills for new fire alarm systems and 24-hour waking watches as freeholders of the buildings pass on charges.

Three more blocks fail tests

The External Walls System report, seen by The Gazette, reveals penthouses at Winterthur Way, part of the Victory Hill development, are wrapped in high pressure laminate, a type of cladding that burns 115 times hotter than non-combustible material.

A study published in 2019 warned a HPL-clad tower could be responsible for the next Grenfell Tower-style disaster.

The affected area is the top two floors of the Cherry, Holly and Elm blocks, where HPL was found in a survey carried out last year.

Fire patrols - likely to be at the expense of residents - are now in place 24 hours a day.

Prospective buyers of properties in the affected floors are unable to obtain a mortgage, although those living in other blocks or in lower floors are not affected.

The ward councillor for Victory Hill, Cllr Jack Cousens, said action to make these buildings safe was taking too long.

The independent councillor said: “Speed is of the essence. These residents have for too long had cladding which has been declared unsafe. The dragging of heels in terms of getting this cladding off is taking far too long.

“That should be the priority, working very quickly.”

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for homes and families, Cllr Tristan Robinson, downplayed the revelations, saying: “Last year, on behalf of the government, the council reported on all materials on the outside of privately owned residential buildings in the borough over 18 metres and sent the results back to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. No concerns were raised by the ministry as a result of these reports. 

The Conservative councillor said: “However, the cladding that is only on the outside of the penthouses on the top floor of three blocks at Winterthur Way was disclosed as having potentially combustible material. To reassure residents, this was not the same cladding that was on Grenfell, as an earlier survey had established that no high-rise residential buildings in the borough had that. 

He said: “We have been liaising with the management company, which has already put in place a programme to replace the cladding on the penthouses and to install a linked alarm system for the penthouses. The company has updated residents on the programme for this work and as a temporary, short term measure until the alarm system is completed, these blocks have implemented a waking watch as a precaution to mitigate the risk.”

The ward member for Sherborne St John continued: “The management company has taken a collaborative approach to keeping the residents of the penthouses, the council and the fire service updated.”

As previously reported, FirstPort - the property management company of Crown Heights - has been passing remedial safety charges onto tenants and was refusing to remove cladding until it receives funding from the government. 

Jason Avery, Assistant Director of Prevention and Protection at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are committed to ensuring the safety of all residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and phase two of the Building Risk Review programme will help us to better achieve this, by highlighting any room for improvements with the fire safety provision in the building. 

“We understand that residents will have concerns about the emotional and financial impacts of any interim temporary safety measures and will continue to work with them and the owners of the buildings to provide advice and support on the actions to take in an emergency.”