Posted 17.12.20
GOV.UK: Further reading
The government has announced a £30 million fund to help end the scandal of excessive waking watch costs, as part of a further move to support thousands of residents in high-rise buildings.
The new Waking Watch Relief Fund will pay for the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding, removing or reducing the need for costly interim safety measures such as 'waking watch'.
The National Fire Chiefs Council have been clear in recent guidance that building owners should move to install common fire alarm systems as quickly as possible to reduce or remove dependence on waking watches.
The Fund will help worried leaseholders who may have faced high costs for interim safety measures by providing financial support and delivering a better, long term fire safety system in their buildings.
Some buildings have already installed these systems due to the significant savings this offers, with leaseholders in those buildings, who on average were paying £137 per month for a waking watch.
A 6-month extension to the deadline for building owners to complete their applications to the £1 billion Building Safety Fund has also been announced - with a new deadline for submissions of 30 June 2021.
Editor's Note
Waking Watch schemes provide for continual patrol of a building, in order to respond to a fire and assist with the evacuation of occupants of the building.
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