Bush Hill Park council flats said to have cladding that doesn’t comply with new fire safety regulations, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Enfield Council is planning to re-clad a housing block fitted with materials that could catch fire and pose a “significant” safety risk.

Constable House, a six-storey building in Ayley Croft, Bush Hill Park, is clad in material that “may not meet an appropriate standard of safety”, planning documents reveal.

This “could pose a significant risk to the health and safety of residents, other building users, people in the proximity of the building or firefighters”.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the government enforced a ban on the use of combustible materials in external walls and attachments such as balconies. In 2020, it provided further guidance to ensure building owners investigate external wall systems to find out if they pose a potential fire risk.

According to a planning statement, the cladding on Constable House, which is home to 30 tenants and leaseholders, “may have complied with building regulation requirements at the time of installation but would not meet the current requirements”.

To ensure the building meets current safety standards, the combustible material in the cladding system will be removed and replaced.

Planning documents state that the “characteristics and aesthetic of the buildings will not be altered” by the remediation work and “there will be no impact upon the location’s character or visual impact upon the public realm”.

They add: “No harm should arise to the residents and the occupiers of neighbouring properties as a result of the development. There are no significant implications in terms of flood risk, no trees will be harmed or lost as a result of the development. The existing trees are far away enough from the building to be unaffected by any scaffolding work.”

The application to replace the cladding can be viewed by searching reference 22/00703/RE4 on the council’s planning portal: Visit https://planningandbuildingcontrol.enfield.gov.uk/online-applications/

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