Croydon LBC has called on the Government to provide financial support to councils struggling to pay for tower block fire safety measures in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.
The London borough, the first to retrofit sprinklers in its tower blocks after a fire killed 71 people in Grenfell Tower in June, warned Whitehall that councils faced an ‘unprecedented funding gap’.
Croydon has requested a face-to-face meeting with housing minister Alok Sharma to discuss the ‘long-term financial burden’ of implementing its £10m sprinkler programme.
The council claimed the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has twice refused to either contribute towards Croydon’s sprinkler programme or relax borrowing rules.
Croydon’s deputy leader and cabinet member for homes, regeneration and planning, Cllr Alison Butler, has now written to the DCLG a third time requesting money and warning that the situation will only worsen if the Government continues to refuse the authority's funding request.
Cllr Butler said: ‘Croydon’s fire safety programme will cost £10m from our housing revenue account, placing a significant long-term financial burden on other ring-fenced council projects.
‘Croydon may be the first council to invest in urgent measures post-Grenfell, but we recognise that others have far more homes.'
A DCLG spokesman said: ‘While building owners are responsible for funding fire safety measures in their properties we have been clear councils should contact us if they have any concerns about funding as we will consider financial flexibilities for essential work to make a building safe.
‘We have received additional information in a letter from Croydon and we will respond in due course.’