Ennerdale House: Emergency Exit/Access Ignored

Ennerdale House: EMERGENCY EXIT OBSTRUCTED for people living in 90 flats

Telford Homes, its contractors and Site Manager are yet again ignoring the health and safety of local residents.

This photograph show the current obstruction to the EMERGENCY EXIT for people living in 90 flats in Ennerdale House.  In our view, the fences, bins and barriers also obstruct and prevent speedy access to the building by the Emergency Services in the event of an emergency.

This used to be a wide open space in front of a very tall block of 90 flats and 200+ residents.

A link to this blog post will be emailed this afternoon to:

• Health and Safety Executive
• Considerate Contractor Scheme
• Local Fire Brigade
• Local Ambulance Service
• Project Manager, East End Homes
• Owen Whalley, Head of Planning, Tower Hamlets Council
• Development Control, Tower Hamlets Council
• local Councillors

Collectively, Telford Homes, its contractors and Site Manager are being extremely negligent in failing to maintain an adequate emergency exit from Ennerdale House - a tower block of 90 flats and approx. 200+ residents.

Instead the Site Manager and the contractors are placing obstructions in the way of anybody needing to enter or exit this tower block because priority is being given to site traffic movements.

The scope to break left and right easily and quickly on exit is obstructed and prevented by high screens.  The opportunity to move forwards and away from the building is obstructed by refuse bins and large barriers.  It's a dangerous environment in the event of an emergency occurring in the building and a lot of residents needing or wishing to leave.

In addition, all of the above obstructions impede access to the building by the local Fire Brigade and other emergency services.

Telford Homes have a documented track record in completely failing to make adequate provision for emergency exits for residents and access by emergency access.  See 

• Telford Homes's Traffic Access Plan for Mile End
• Telford Homes ignore Emergency Access requirements
• Access to Eric Street flats improves but NOT resolved

What we want to see happen

The urgent and immediate priority is to make sure people are safe.

Telford Homes needs to ensure that:

• there are no obstructions in the area of the emergency exit which might lead to delayed access or exit and injuries or worse to residents if there was an accident or serious fire or other emergency requiring people in any or all of the 90 flats to leave Ennerdale House this afternoon
• there are no obstructions in the area of the entrance to the building which prevent speedy access by emergency services in the event of an emergency

We have asked ALL the above organisations and individuals listed at the top of this post to do whatever they can to ensure that a SAFE environment is in place ASAP for all the residents of Ennerdale House.  We will report back on how they respond.

UPDATE:

Response from Tower Hamlets Council - Development Control 27th October 2011

This would appear to me to not be a planning related matter and may be best resolved by speaking directly with Telfords or taking it up with the Health and Safety Executive.

It appears that Tower Hamlets Planning is saying, in effect, that it has no absolutely no interest in making it a planning condition or implementing any other action that requires contractors to keep emergency exits clear at all times during the course of a development on a housing estate.  


Will it take a nasty accident to establish that this is a very blinkered approach to the safety of local residents?


Response from Telford Project Manager - REFUSAL to speak to MERA about this matter


Response from Councillors - none to date


Response from Health and Safety Executive - none to date


Response from Considerate Contractor Scheme - none to date

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