Dozens of council flats in Ashfield still do not have the correct fire-regulated entrance doors after a contractor hired to install them went bust.
Entry doors on council flats must comply with the Fire Safety Regulations 2022, which state that all flats must have fire-resisting entrances meeting certain standards.
These regulations are designed to slow the spread of fire and smoke and were introduced following the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017.
However, not all entrance doors to council flats in Ashfield comply with the current fire safety regulations, according to documents released ahead of an Audit Committee meeting due to be held on Thursday, 30 January.
This is because Nottingham construction firm J Tomlinson Ltd, which was contracted to install fire safety doors compliant with the new rules across all Ashfield District Council flats, went into administration in 2023.
The project has since been left unfinished.
A total of 39 fire safety doors have already been fitted on flats identified as needing them, leaving 65 doors still to be completed.
Thousands of other doors on council properties across the district have previously been checked and either replaced or assessed as not requiring replacements.
Cllr Tom Hollis (Ash Ind), Deputy Leader of the Council and responsible for Strategic Housing and Climate Change, said the authority is tendering for a new contractor to install the remaining fire-regulated doors.
The expected start and end dates of the project have not yet been revealed.
Cllr Hollis said: “We’re revising the estate to make sure the doors comply with current regulations.
“This is a legislation change since Grenfell, so we need the doors that aren’t fire-regulated to be refitted.
“The council doesn’t have concerns about the fire safety in flats, but we’re happy to receive the audit report.
“We’ve been working on this project for four years and we’ve had more than 7,500 doors to assess under the new legislation.
“We can’t change all the doors we need to straight away.
“Since the contractor went bust, we’re tendering for a new contractor now.”
Cllr Hollis added that some residents do not want their doors to be refitted, which has caused delays in the works.
The council also faces ‘legal complications’ in replacing doors for flats that have been sold to other landlords, such as housing associations.
He added: “We have just a few doors left to finish. Ashfield Council is a step above most other councils across the county, in that we’re prioritising this and putting the safety of the building first.”
The council’s progress on the matter will be discussed at the Audit Committee meeting on 30 January.
The committee will recommend the council reviews all flat entrance doors to identify those which do not comply with fire safety regulations, including those that “failed recent Government tests”.
They will also recommend the council take action to ensure that “appropriately accredited fire doors are installed” at the entrances to flats.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 were placed on the statute book on 18 May 2022 and came into force on 23 January 2023.
The regulations implement the majority of recommendations made to the Government in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report, which required a change in the law.
J Tomlinson Ltd went into administration in July 2023, leading to the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Headquartered in Beeston, the company carried out work across the Midlands and north of England.
• Southwell: Plans to build huge earth mound as flood protection
• £350,000 new sports changing facilities at Lambley Lane opened
