Council housing in the city will receive important fire safety upgrades thanks to a huge cash injection worth millions of pounds.
Some £13 million is being pumped into Brighton and Hove City Council homes which will also fund an updated asbestos management process, lift maintenance, and improvements to gas, water, and electrical safety.
It is a bid by the city council to get ahead of new legislation launched next spring to bring housing standards up to scratch following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Councillor Gill Williams, chairman of the housing and new homes committee, said: “I'm very pleased to see the positive progress made to get ahead of the expected new regulations on safety in council homes.
“Residents’ safety is our key priority and we're making every effort to make sure the highest safety standards are achieved in the city’s council homes.
“We're expecting there to be extra requirements for local authorities under the new regulations and we have identified a few areas we want to improve.
“It’s good news to see the substantial investment being made to ensure we continue to provide safe, good quality council homes. We will keep residents updated as the work develops.”
The city council has also fitted 4,500 carbon monoxide and smoke detectors to its properties so far with work underway to install them in any homes still in need.
Gas inspections are continuing with 98.98 per cent of homes already holding a valid gas safety certificate.
Elsewhere, the city council is upgrading its asbestos management and computer systems.
READ MORE: ‘Frustration over lack of change six years on from Grenfell is turning to anger’
A spokesman for the council said: “We hold data on asbestos across council housing and have a process in place to manage asbestos risk when work is carried out.
“While the asbestos risk is low in our properties, we need to improve how we store the information so it’s held within a single system.
“We are also expanding our programme of regular electrical compliance tests of all council homes in line with the expected new legislation.
“Currently, these are mainly done in response to repair requests, home improvements and when tenancies change.
“We are aiming to complete these checks within three years, then continue the programme of testing every five years.”
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