Sprinkler system to boost tower safety

Sprinkler system to boost tower safety

4:00pm Tuesday 8th July 2014 in News By Damian Fantato, Council Reporter, also covering Oxford city centre. Call me on 01865 425429

TENANTS safety in Oxford tower blocks is being given a boost with the introduction of a new sprinkler system.

The improvement will be included in the 18m redevelopment of the city council blocks, following a request from the countys fire brigade.

The council agreed on Thursday to spend an extra 1.74m on its plans to redevelop the five towers.

Balconies are also to be enclosed and more parking provided following requests by residents during the consultation process.

City councillor Scott Seamons said: The fire service came to us and said we should put sprinklers in, and the rest of the changes reflect what came out of the consultation.

Residents said they wanted the balconies to be enclosed. We are doing this job once, so we want to do it properly and make it as good as it can be.

As well as the new sprinkler system and the enclosed balconies, the extra money will also pay for landscaping and more parking.

Assistant chief fire officer Simon Furlong said: We have been working in partnership with the city council to ensure that the tower block are refurbished to provide a safe living and working environment.

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Sprinkler system to boost tower safety