DOOM: London

[AtW]

"Planners set to approve 51-storey London tower with only one staircase

Fire safety expert says it would be ‘utter madness’ to approve plans for one of UK’s tallest residential buildings

Permission to build a 51-storey skyscraper with a single fire escape for more than 400 flats is expected to be granted on Thursday, in a move safety campaigners described as “scary”.

Plans for one of the UK’s tallest residential buildings will go before the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning committee on Thursday evening with a recommendation from officials for approval.

The Cuba Street tower, close to Canary Wharf, will have 655 bedrooms, with the highest close to 170 metres in the air – two-and-a-half times the height of Grenfell Tower.

It features only a single staircase, which is allowed under building regulations if the strategy in a fire is to tell residents to stay put in their homes. All new apartment blocks above 11 metres must also be fitted with sprinklers.

But fire safety experts warn it is inadequate because design features meant to keep people safe in their flats might fail, triggering an evacuation while firefighters are trying to use the same stairs in the opposite direction. The tower is being developed by Ballymore, and residents of another of the company’s nearby apartment complexes, New Providence Wharf (NPW), have also raised concerns about the design."

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...-one-staircase



I have two staircases in me bedsit above a kebab shop...

[SueEllen]

In 50 years time there will be a fire and ....

[Mordac]

In 50 years time there will be a fire and ....

...most of it will already be underwater, if Irritate Britain are to be believed...

[AtW]

In 50 years time there will be a fire and ....

... and it won't be a problem for the current lot in charge...

[Whorty]

Might get planning for it. Might build it. Some people might be desperate enough to buy some ... but be interested if mainstream mortgage companies will allow mortgages on these flats. Cash buyers only?

[SueEllen]

On hold.

Good Campaigning AtW. Now can you get rid of BoJo?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...se-put-on-hold

A property developer bidding to build a 51-storey apartment tower with only one staircase has put its planning application on hold just hours after the Guardian exposed fire safety concerns.

On Thursday evening Ballymore had planned to seek approval for one of the UK’s tallest residential buildings close to Canary Wharf in east London, but withdrew its application after fire safety experts branded as “madness” its plan to build more than 400 flats in a tower two-and-a-half times the height of Grenfell with just one staircase.

Details of the scheme triggered widespread outrage and concern, including from survivors of the disaster at Grenfell Tower, which also had only one staircase. The local MP, Apsana Begum, said constituents were “right to be distressed” and said she would ensure concerns were addressed.

On Thursday the London fire brigade also raised formal concerns about the proposals with planners at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and Ballymore asked for the application to be taken off the planning committee agenda.

An LFB spokesperson said the design “does not provide suitable and convenient means of escape and associated evacuation strategy for all building users”.

“In buildings with a single escape route, we would expect the developer to have their own fire engineers provide a full review to show the resilience in the event of a fire and this does not appear to have been carried out.”

[GigiBronz]

Why are people bickering about this?

it will be bought by Chinese/Indian/Asian oligarchs trying to ringfence some of their wealth from totalitarian regimes.

they will be bought up before it is even built and held empty.

it will have 25% occupancy as the rest of CW does.

1 staircase might even be too much.

[SueEllen]

Every alarm call will involve 4 fire engines and when there is an actual fire some of the 25% will die of smoke inhalation/burn to death.

[Martin@AS Financial]

Might get planning for it. Might build it. Some people might be desperate enough to buy some ... but be interested if mainstream mortgage companies will allow mortgages on these flats. Cash buyers only?

I'd like to think most bank surveyors would have had their concerns if it had gone ahead in light of the cladding scandal. Essentially they are looking at re-saleability in case they ever need to repossess.

Would have been a tortuous walk to the top when the lifts inevitably broke down as well.

[OwlHoot]

"Planners set to approve 51-storey London tower with only one staircase ..

Sounds like the same mistake as when the White Tower was first built in the 1080s.

It was staggeringly impractical and uncomfortable, because William the Conqueror was paranoid about security. There was only one entrance, set high up in a wall, with a passage just wide enough for one person through the 20 feet thick walls, and then only one narrow circular staircase to all floors. There was also only one fireplace in the whole place, in a large hall on the first floor, so everyone had to shiver round burning braziers.