A Cornwall councillor concerned about the possibility of a “horizontal Grenfell” fire happening in new-build homes in the Duchy is likely to ask the council to write to the Government supporting recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.

Published on September 4, the inquiry’s second phase report by Sir Martin Moore-Bick recommended that a new single, national regulator should be created to oversee building control.

Cllr Dulcie Tudor, who represents residents of Threemilestone and Chacewater near Truro, has long been concerned that local authorities such as Cornwall Council are not the sole provider of building control services. Five years ago, a resident in a relatively new home in her division contacted her to say there were no regulatory fire safety barriers in their attic.

“They were in the building trade and knew that if a fire started in the house, they would have just minutes to get out before the whole home would have been engulfed in flames,” said Cllr Tudor. “There were concerns a fire could spread through the attics in the terrace and you could have the whole street up in flames, like a horizontal Grenfell.”

She raised the issue with the council and the house builder at the time, and put a motion before full council in 2019 to write to the then Secretary of State for Housing, asking him to make local authorities the sole provider of building control services. 

“The building control system where developers can choose their own regulator is wrong in principle,” added Cllr Tudor, who is vice-chair of the council’s strategic planning committee. 

“The Grenfell report recommends that in the interests of professionalism and consistency of service, all building control functions, including those currently performed by the local authority, should be exercised nationally.

“That means all buildings and not just the buildings over 18 metres in height, which are categorised as high risk as a result of the Grenfell fire. All these new homes being built are, in my opinion, high risk too.”

Cllr Tudor is considering asking the Conservative administration to write to the new housing minister and ask for the report’s recommendations to be implemented as quickly as possible.

At last Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s cabinet this week, a member of the public enquired after the council’s strategic plan following the issues raised in the Grenfell Report. 

Cllr Olly Monk, portfolio holder for housing, said the council and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service will review the report’s implications and lessons learned to ensure the relevant plans and mitigations are put in place as required. 

Cllr Monk pointed out that council homes are managed by Cornwall Housing Ltd, an arm’s length management organisation, adding that the council self-referred itself to the Social Housing Regulator in 2021 for compliance failures. 

“Since that time, we’ve been on a journey of improvement and there have been significant improvements, with the expected health and safety standards including fire and gas servicing.”