Sheffield Council fire safety row goes to court – “they turned our flat into a death trap”

A Sheffield council tenant is facing a court injunction to force him to have fire protection installed in his flat which he believes does not meet safety standards.

Jeremy Fisher lives with his partner and son in the Hanover tower block in Broomhall.

Sheffield City Council is seeking an injunction at Sheffield County Court to gain access to the flat. Both sides appeared at a hearing last Wednesday (December 12) which was adjourned until a date to be set in February.

The council is arguing that it needs access to Mr Fisher’s flat, which he is refusing, in order to install a misting system as part of fire safety measures.

Mr Fisher said that a sprinkler system was repeatedly promised for all Sheffield tower block flats following the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in 2017 but at some point, without explanation why, this was changed to a mister system.

He believes this is inappropriate and not up to current British Standards on fire safety for tower blocks.

Mr Fisher said: “The counter claim is really that they have been harassing us. They won’t do some of the work.

“There is a list of work they have been repeating in documentation. Two items we have been wanting for seven years they won’t do.”

Mr Fisher said he felt he was being punished for resisting the mister system.

“If they don’t want to put the sprinkler system in, which I understand would be practically difficult, we would accept nothing because the mister systems don’t meet the standards as you have claimed.”

Judge Childs said: “What you’re saying is the behaviour amounts to a breach of your quiet enjoyment of the property.”

He asked Mr Fisher if he accepted that the council needs to do the work to ensure the building is up to fire safety standards.

Mr Fisher replied that some aspects of the building are 50 years out of date and would not be allowed under current safety standards. “The entire building is not up to the current regime.

“There is no legal requirement to put in sprinklers. If it was a new building, it would be.

“It would have been the case in 2010 when they put the Grenfell cladding on.”

The council had to remove unsafe Alucobond PE cladding from the Hanover block when checks were made following the Grenfell fire.

“They put Grenfell cladding on in 2010. They turned our flat into a death trap, no explanation at all,” Mr Fisher said.

“They had an inquiry run by themselves. We don’t trust anything they do.”

Gary Willock, barrister acting for the council, asked District Judge Childs to adjourn the hearing so that council documents he believes to be relevant to the case can be produced.

He said that the documents are a council fire risk assessment, a building control application to enable the work to take place on the flats and a fire risk strategy in relation to the works.

Mr Willock said: “In my view they are essential for the court to look at and consider before the case can be dealt with effectively.”

The judge gave the council until January 9 to produce the documents and a further week to provide explanatory notes. Mr Fisher, who is representing himself, will be given two weeks to put together any response.

The judge said: “I do implore both parties to get around a table.”