Permission to build a 51-storey skyscraper with a single fire escape for more than 400 flats is expected to be granted on Thursday, in a move safety c

Planners set to approve 51-storey London tower with only one staircase

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2022-01-12 23:00:08

Permission to build a 51-storey skyscraper with a single fire escape for more than 400 flats is expected to be granted on Thursday, in a move safety campaigners described as “scary”.

Plans for one of the UK’s tallest residential buildings will go before the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning committee on Thursday evening with a recommendation from officials for approval.

The Cuba Street tower, close to Canary Wharf, will have 655 bedrooms, with the highest close to 170 metres in the air – two-and-a-half times the height of Grenfell Tower.

It features only a single staircase, which is allowed under building regulations if the strategy in a fire is to tell residents to stay put in their homes. All new apartment blocks above 11 metres must also be fitted with sprinklers.

But fire safety experts warn it is inadequate because design features meant to keep people safe in their flats might fail, triggering an evacuation while firefighters are trying to use the same stairs in the opposite direction. The tower is being developed by Ballymore, and residents of another of the company’s nearby apartment complexes, New Providence Wharf (NPW), have also raised concerns about the design.

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