Following the tragic event at Grenfell Tower, students living in Nottingham Two have voiced concern after an email they received in regard to cladding.
On June 30th, Nottingham Two sent an email to their tenants informing them that there has been an investigation in regard to cladding on the building. The email states that the “initial test results for Nottingham Two have highlighted failings with the cladding, as is the case with the vast majority of buildings that have been tested to date.”
“if it is concluded, or we believe that the cladding presents any danger at all to our residents[,] it will be removed”
The email goes on to state:
“[W]e have had a full audit of Nottingham Two by Nottinghamshire Fire Authority to review every element of fire safety, and we are pleased to be able to update you they have confirmed all aspects of our fire safety provisions are compliant. This confirms our own internal safety checks that we constantly carry out to check our processes and safety equipment comply with the most recent fire safety advice. The local fire officer has signed the property off as compliant, and at this stage there is no further action to be taken to ensure the property is safe to live in.
“As the investigations continue into the causes of the tragedy, if it is concluded, or we believe that the cladding presents any danger at all to our residents it will be removed.”
“Nottingham Two can confirm that aluminium composite material cladding is installed on the building”
Nottingham Two is managed by Derwent Students but is under the ownership of Brookfield Student Real Estate (BSRE).
Despite the reassurance from Nottingham Two that the cladding does not present any danger, and the clearance from the local fire officer, there are still some residents that feel uneasy considering what happened in London.
Emily Terry, a first-year Aerospace Engineering student, told Impact: “I think you need to have trust in the fire department and all the officials that have granted the accommodation as safe. They would be very hesitant about letting anyone live in the accommodation if they felt the building was at risk. Having said that, people are bound to feel worried about it and I can imagine it would put quite a few other students off the accommodation.”
“Trinity Square, the only other building under BSRE’s ownership, is not subject to any required cladding tests”
Impact got in touch with BSRE and received this comment about the cladding:
“We are awaiting the results of the most recently required round of testing by DCLA [believed that they meant to write DCLG] to understand if the cladding requires removal. In the meantime[,] we have worked closely with the Fire and Rescue authorities to confirm that our building presents no fire risk at all to our residents. This has been communicated to our residents.”
Following this statement, Nottingham Post released this statement from a spokesperson for the company:
“Following tests as advised by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Nottingham Two can confirm that aluminium composite material cladding is installed on the building.
“Following the test results, and as per the guidance set out by DCLG, we are working in close partnership with Nottingham Fire and Rescue who inspected the building on June 29, and subsequently advised that the property is not considered high rise at six storeys, and has all fire safety provisions in place to continue to safely accommodate our residents with whom we are communicating directly.”
“Impact have also gotten information that there isn’t any cladding on Madison Court/Madison Gardens”
In addition, Impact was told that Trinity Square, the only other building under BSRE’s ownership, is not subject to any required cladding tests. Furthermore, Impact has also gotten information that there isn’t any cladding on Madison Court/Madison Gardens.
Prior to the tragic event in London and the email being sent to tenants, frequent maintenance notices and fire safety briefs were sent to tenants in Nottingham Two.
The University of Nottingham recently released a statement to Impact about cladding in their residential buildings: “We can confirm that we do not have any tall residential buildings with these panels and as such we do not consider any of our residential buildings to present a fire risk.”
Their full statement can be read here.
“Should a fire occur in your home, our advice is always to get out, stay out and call 999”
In a statement released by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), they stated:
“Should a fire occur in your home, our advice is always to get out, stay out and call 999. In instances where it is unsafe to evacuate, you should stay in place and await advice from emergency services personnel. You should never assume that others have called the emergency services and we would encourage you to educate everyone in your home about this.”
Sarah Lindgärde
Featured image courtesy of ‘Ben Sutherland’ via Flickr. License here.
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