Dear
You e-mails have been forwarded to me and I have discussed the points made with officers who deal with the Estate management. They have confirmed that lockable door shutters have been fitted to properties since the summer to coincide with the installation of alarms. Orbis are the company who are fitting these, as they are the market leader. As previously reported, officers did investigate the specification provided by you but could not get regular and comprehensive contact arrangements in place with your suggested supplier. As it is often necessary to have a presence on the Estate, this supplier has now been set aside in preference to Orbis who attend when requested and also out of hours if the alarms are triggered.
Orbis did attend when the fires broke out and attempted to secure all openings after the fires had been extinguished; however, the fire service deemed some openings as too dangerous to allow the crew back in to cover.
The daily inspections continue and work is ordered as soon as it is either discovered or passed on. They have been on the Estate this morning, where it appears that some screens have been removed over the weekend. These are to be rectified today.
With respect to no 31 Ashcroft Road not being secured, this was because the Council have not yet purchased it, and the owner was moving out for the whole of the previous week before the fire. The owner has now given us permission to secure the property, as he has removed all his possessions and we have undertaking the necessary works to shutter it (at our own cost).
All the empty properties are being prepared for demolition, but this will not take place until early in the New year to allow for the removal of services and any asbestos. It is not possible to demolish them any quicker than this in order to comply with the required notices.
I note your comments re access to Verner Street, but would state that the disruption was only for a relatively short period, and if emergency vehicles had required to access the Estate, the fire service would have allowed this. Hopefully, the removal of these empty properties soon into the New year will restore this access more comprehensively.
I trust this answers the points raised within your 2 e-mails.
Yours sincerely
Janet Howley
Regeneration Manager
Development and Strategic Housing
Room D34
Newton Bar
Leeds Road
Wakefield WF1 2TX
