Oander have once again been supporting the residents of blocks of flats in London identified as having unsafe cladding by securing payments from the government’s Waking Watch Relief Fund. Working with the Residents Association via the Block Management Company, Oander has carried out works to improve fire safety and ensure the residents get access to the financial relief made available by the government.
The Waking Watch Relief Fund was put in place in December 2020 to support residents of blocks of flats identified as having dangerous cladding and unsatisfactory fire safety standards. In light of the Grenfell Tower disaster, residents of these properties have had to implement waking watch programmes and upgrade fire alarm systems to meet new regulations. These additional safety measures have come at an astronomical cost and the residents are left to foot the bill.
Although there is a £30 million government purse for the fund, to date, there have only been 14 payments made within the GLA (Greater London Authority). Three of those payments as of the end of October 2021 are from Oander projects, representing approximately 20% of the payments made.
The Waking Watch Relief Fund
The Waking Watch Relief Fund was designed to help cover the cost of replacing waking watches with fire alarm systems in buildings that have fire safety defects. Waking Watches were introduced in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire and involve 24-hour patrols to warn residents in the event of a fire and coordinate evacuations.
When it becomes known that there is an issue with the façade of the building and the combustibility of the materials, there are a number of potential measures which the fire officers will seek to be installed in many instances resulting in deployment of a waking watch.
A waking watch is effectively a team of people who will patrol the building from top to bottom, so that if they identify a fire they can raise the alarm so that everyone can safely evacuate. This is particularly costly because the building has to be manned 24/7. Costs for the waking watch can easily amount to £10 – £15k a week (4 people x £15 per hr x 24 hrs x 7 days) and the bigger the building the more people are required to patrol the building. This cost has to be picked up by the leaseholder of the flat and there isn’t any insurance etc for that.
Obtaining The Waking Watch Relief Fund
Although the government money is available to support these unfortunate residents, it’s not actually that easy to obtain. There are a number of guidelines, procedures and processes which need to be implemented before the funding will be awarded. Oander have now successfully applied on behalf of three blocks and have obtained and received payment under the fund. Oander have been involved in fire safety improvements on a number of projects and have now streamlined the process for carrying out the mitigation works required in order to apply for the government waking watch relief fund money.
The Main part of the mitigation process is the upgrading and improvement of the fire alarm system within the blocks. In most cases the fire alarms are separate for the communal and residential areas. Therefore, one of the mitigation measures to enable the fire officer to sign off and remove the waking watch is the provisionof an enhansed fire alarm system within the building. This new fire alarm system must be a unified system covering both communal areas and residential apartments.
Oander’s first priority when working with these vulnerable blocks is to install new wireless fire alarm systems to all the apartments. During the installation process and when key safety milestones are reached, it is possible for the size of the waking watch to be reduced. As well as improving safety and making residents feel reassured, it also instantly reduces the running costs of the residents. Once the installation of the new fire alarm system is complete, it is then inspected and the building’s fire officer signs it off confirming the waking watch can be dispanded. This fundamental safety improvement provides a new sophisticated fire alarm system that serves the entire building and also forms a major part of the funding application.
100% Success Rate
Oander are three for three on their applications for the funding for their London clients. Successfully completing the installation of the new alarm systems and applying for the funding for three tower blocks in the greater London area. At the time of publishing (November 21), a total of 111 applications for the waking watch relief fund had been made in the capital, 72 of which were approved, with only 14 payments having been made. Given the relatively low number of payments made to date, Oander are delighted with the successful outcome for all three projects they have applied for on behalf of their clients.
As well as being waking watch relief fund application specialists, Oander offers a complete range of multi disciplinary services for property, construction and civil engineering projects. If you’d like to discuss a project or find out more about Oander’s services, please call Oander’s Managing Director, Ben Davies on 01342 718758. Or to see more on the services Oander provide, click here
