Fears raised over 'fire risk' flats in Shrewsbury

The five-storey property, which contains 67 flats, was deemed to be a fire risk after 'fire shafts' included in the building's original design were found to be in breach of modern fire regulations.

The shafts carry utilities up through the 1960s building but are no longer deemed safe following a toughening of fire regulations after the Grenfell disaster, as they could allow smoke to filter through the building.

Property management company Rendall & Rittner, which took over running the building in 2022, has been told to make the building safe and has written to inform tenants of the enforcement notice.

In the letter, which has been seen by the Shropshire Star, Rendall & Ritter said that the "problem with the shafts" had been "recognised for a number of years".

The letter added: "The block of flats were designed and constructed in such a way. Now that this letter has been issued, and it will be followed up next week with the formal enforcement notice, we need to act swiftly and collaboratively."

On receipt of the letter, some residents raised concerns that the building could become a "Grenfell-type" disaster waiting to happen.

One of the tenants, who does not want to be named, said: "Coton Manor is literally a serious incident waiting to happen with a clear threat to life. Residents have been told they could face being told they cannot live there due to the serious fire safety failings. If an incident was to happen there, it could be a Grenfell-type situation."

However, Rendall & Rittner said they were making "good progress" to make the building safe and added that there was no cladding on the building that could possibly cause a Grenfell-type scenario.

A spokesperson for the property management company, said: “We can confirm we are making good progress with the current issues at Coton Manor and are working with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of residents.

"The communal doors have recently been upgraded and, with the assistance of residents, a survey is being completed on the front doors of all their apartments.

"We have recently received a quote for a fire compartmentation survey and are currently undertaking a Section 20 consultation with residents to determine the next steps for a new Fire Detection System.”

Scott Bishop, group commander for prevention and protection at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the fire service was "confident" that the issues at Coton Manor were being addressed.

He said: "Some issues were highlighted as part of the inspection and the service has been working closely with the management agency and residents board, in accordance with our enforcement policy and duties, to quickly rectify the areas that need improving.

"Several safety measures have been put in place whilst the work is ongoing including reverting to a simultaneous evacuation policy rather than a stay put policy.

"We are confident that the issues are being addressed and will continue to work with the responsible agencies to ensure the building is safe.

"We would like to reassure residents that we take these risks extremely seriously and will be reinspecting to ensure all work is complete and in line with fire safety regulations."

The current situation at Coton Manor is not the first problem experienced by tenants. The building has regularly been hit with floods with the last in only January last year. Tenants have said the previous year saw it take almost a year for the ground floor to dry out following a flood in 2022.