Building Safety Update: October 2023 | Our latest Building Safety Updates

This Building Safety Update is from October 2023 and was sent to residents of Blackshaw House, Rogerstead House and Fernstead House). You can download a PDF copy of the printed version of this update by tapping below:

Building Safety Update - October 2023 [pdf] 442KB

Building Safety Update - October 2023

This Building Safety Update from October 2023 covers:

• Continued safety works on your building
• Want to have your say on building safety matters?
• Items left in communal areas: a reminder on our policy
• A reminder on our five-step process for checking fire doors are safe
• Please let us know if you'd need help to evacuate in the event of a fire

Continued safety works on your building

You might’ve noticed that we’ve been carrying out work to improve the appearance and safety of communal areas in your building. So far, our work has involved:

• Making alterations to the communal landing areas on each floor.
• Painting all wall coverings in communal areas and staircases with fire retardant paint.
• Once this paintwork is completed, reinstalling all of the wayfinding signage.
• Replacing the flooring in communal areas and staircases.

Our flooring contractors started work on replacing the flooring in Fernstead from early September. Once all floors are complete, they’ll proceed to replace the flooring in Blackshaw House and Rogerstead House, too.

The replacement flooring will be installed in stages to ensure that you can still access your property safely. We’ll also send out letters to residents outlining when and where flooring is being replaced in each part of the building.

Please let us know if you have any access issues we need to consider. You can email the Building Safety Team using buildingsafety@boltonathome.org.uk or call 01204 328000 (and ask to speak to the Building Safety Team).

Installing Automatic Opening Vents (AOVs)

These vents are designed to help ventilate and extract smoke from the building if there were a fire, helping to facilitate the safe escape of occupants.

So that we can install these, we’ll be erecting scaffolding to the front of Fernstead, Blackshaw, and Rogerstead from late September (2023).

Further scaffolding will also be erected to the rear of the buildings during September, October, and November (2023), again to assist in the installation of the AOVs.

This will also involve replacing the communal landing windows in some areas.

We've also:

Continued our Fire Door inspections:

We’re making visits to all properties to ensure your fire doors are safe and have been properly inspected.

Please make sure that you allow access for this vital inspection to take place. As your landlord, it’s our responsibility to inspect your fire door every year.

Installed Secure Information Boxes at the front of each block:

These large red boxes are for use by the fire brigade only and contain vital building information which will help the fire service in the event of a fire.

Want to have your say on building safety matters?

We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on anything relating to the safety of your building.

To get involved or contact us about any building safety concerns you have, please email the Building Safety Team using buildingsafety@boltonathome.org.uk or call 01204 328000 (and ask to speak to the Building Safety Team).

Items left in communal areas: a reminder of our policy

You’ll have recently (during August 2023) received a letter that outlines our policy for items left in communal areas. As a reminder, please note that items should never be left in your building’s communal areas as these can pose a serious fire risk to you and others.

Items could include, but are not limited to:

• buggies
• petrol or gas-related items (e.g., motorbikes, gas cylinders, BBQs)
• furniture, bedding, and clothing
• paint, canisters, and tins
• household items
• books, paper materials, and boxes
• mail
• plants
• door mats
• bin liners and their contents

Remember: if we find any items in communal areas, we’ll serve a reminder notice on low risk items, but with higher risk items- we may remove them without further notice- meaning you’ll no longer have access to them.

To access the original letter, as well as a range of advice and guidance on a range of other building safety topics, visit: www.boltonathome.org.uk/building-safety.

A reminder on our five-step process for checking fire doors are safe

Our five steps were originally shared as part of a separate leaflet from us titled ‘Fire door advice for tenants’.

To access the original leaflet, as well as a range of advice and guidance on a range of other building safety topics, visit: www.boltonathome.org.uk/building-safety.

What to look out for:

1. Any damage to door’s glazing or air transfer grille.
2. The door closer shuts the door.
3. The door closes correctly around the whole frame.
4. Any gaps around the door frame, seals, and hinges.
5. No visible damage.

If you do spot anything, please report it by calling 01204 328000.

Please let us know if you’d need help to evacuate in the event of a fire

If you're concerned that you might struggle to evacuate your building in an emergency, please let us know so that we can visit you and look at ways to assist you with fire escape planning.

You can email our Building Safety Team using buildingsafety@boltonathome.org.uk or call 01204 328000 (and ask to speak to our Building Safety Team).