A housing association wants to knock down fire-damaged flats in Brighton and build a new block before offering those who lived there a chance to return.
The move follows the fire in Pankhurst Avenue, Brighton, last September when the building, known as Block B, was rendered uninhabitable and damaged beyond repair.
The Guinness Partnership said: “The tenants are currently in temporary accommodation and will be rehoused into the development upon completion.”
The housing association has submitted a planning application to Brighton and Hove City Council with the aim of replacing the three-storey block with an almost identical building.
It said that the new flats would have slightly more living space to reflect improved standards and changes to planning rules since the original flats were initially approved in 2007.
And, Guinness said, “the provision of a ‘brown’ roof rather than a pitched roof would deliver improvements in biodiversity, rainwater run-off and sustainability.”
The housing association liaised with residents and council planners when drawing up its plans and said that all 12 flats would be classed as affordable.
Half would be for rent and half for shared ownership and all four ground-floor flats would be wheelchair-accessible.
Three of the 12 flats would have one bed and the other nine would be two-bedroom flats.
They would be built on a one-and-a-half-acre site on the corner of Pankhurst Avenue and Freshfield Road.
Guinness said, after a “pre-application” consultation with planners, that “the proposed design is considered generally acceptable, subject to changes to the balcony treatment and the submission of material details.”
A fire investigation report, released after a freedom of information request by Brighton and Hove News, said that the fire started on a balcony.
It was started accidentally by a couple of cigarettes stubbed out in a plant pot full of used butts.
The investigation also found that some fire breaks had been missing from the roof of the building and that the flats were destroyed as the blaze spread rapidly.
The official report said that it took just 17 minutes from when the fire became visible on a balcony until the roof was fully on fire.
The South East Fire Investigation Report added: “Fire Action notices were in the communal stairwells which advised occupants to stay in their flats unless fire starts to affect their flat.
“It appears that occupants did not pay heed to this advice and evacuated immediately as they became aware of the building being involved in a fire.
“In hindsight, the speed and extent of fire development showed this to be a rather fortuitous move.”
sad all round: remind me, was there a smoking ban on all of the flats? Were tenants allowed to smoke on the balconies?
It wasn’t smoking, it was a chip pan fire …
It was a balcony fire caused by illegal subletting tenants
Sadly when the residents move back in they now have a 5G mast directly opposite them
What’s that got to do with rehousing, price of chips or anything. The problem is poor
Y built flammable flats not wild conspiracy theories.
Never mind, I’m sure the housing association will supply the new residents with tinfoil hats. You should get one too!
Guinness went round removing all fire alarm systems from the building’s i think its disgusting and now are looking into putting massive poles on are ceilings in are flats with sprinklers but the sprinklers will be set off bhy are fire alarms in are flat but also this will be connected to a couple of properties connected to ares so if any of are fire alarms go off in flat we all get flooded are fire alarms are so sensitive when cooking they go off yes agree to doing it in the building but they also need to put fire alarm system back in the building’s
Completely wrong. Fire sprinklers only activate if there is a fire. Just because you burn your toast and set off the smoke alarms does not mean the sprinklers will activate. Sprinklers are activated by the fire itself so only the one next to a fire will go off not the whole building.