High-rise building safety
A high-rise building is at least 18 metres or 7 storeys tall and has at least 2 flats. We have 25 high-rise buildings across Sunderland.
Overview
The Health and Safety Executive is the Building Safety Regulator for England. Their role is to make sure high-rise buildings are a safe place to live. Find out more about the Building Safety Regulator.
There are regulations that focus on fire and structural safety. We already have measures in place to keep customers, leaseholders and residents safe, but we are reviewing how we keep our buildings safe so you can:
- be confident that your building is fire and structurally safe
- get involved and have your say in building safety decisions
Improving your home and building
We are investing £300 million to improve existing homes from 2019 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023, this includes improving 23 of the 25 high-rise buildings across Sunderland by:
- installing automatic opening vents that help remove smoke from your building if there is a fire
- replacing fire alarms
- replacing communal boilers
- replacing heaters in communal rooms
- upgrading internet connections
- repairing and decorating communal areas
- rewiring buildings and flats
- installing sprinklers in flats
- installing new kitchens and bathrooms
We will work with you to make sure you understand:
- what improvements we will do
- how the improvements will make your building safer
- how the improvements will affect you
We are also doing surveys of your building’s:
- structure
- external walls to assess fire safety standards
- internal walls and floors that help stop smoke and fire from spreading and give you more time to get out of the building if there is a fire
- signs, including installing new signs in the lifts, stairs and on each floor
High-rise buildings
Central
- Astral House
- City Green
- Planet House
- River Quarter
- Solar House
East End
- Lambton Tower
- Londonderry Tower
- Lumley Tower
Hendon
- D'Arcy Court
- Hedworth Court
- South Durham Court
North
- Church Street North
- Dame Dorothy Crescent
- Devonshire Tower
- Dock Street
- Eglinton Tower
- Victor Street
- Zetland Square
Lakeside
- Aberdeen Tower
- Aden Tower
- Aldenham Tower
- Altrincham Tower
- Amalfi Tower
- Amble Tower
- Australia Tower
If you have questions about building safety
Contact Stacey Thwaites, Building Safety Project Lead by:
- calling 07801 532 594
- emailing fireandbuildingsafety@gentoogroup.com
For any other questions about your building or neighbourhood, call 0191 525 5000 and select option 3.
Report a fire or structural safety issue in a high rise building
Reporting a mandatory occurrence
Gentoo must enable customers and anyone else who is in the building to report safety issues relating to fire or the structure of the building. These reports must be investigated and reported to the Building Safety Regulator if they meet a specific criteria. This is called a 'mandatory occurrence'.
What is a mandatory occurrence?
This term is used for very specific types of risks that have or could cause death or serious injury to a significant number of people. Such as:
- the spread of fire or something that could lead to the spread of fire, for example from one flat to another
- the total or partial collapse of the building
- failure of fire safety equipment such as fire doors or some detectors
Please report any concerns to us, so that we can assess whether it is a mandatory occurrence or not. We will take action to rectify all building safety concerns regardless of whether or not they need to be reported to the Building Safety Regulator. You can report a concern using the form below, or by calling the Fire and Building Safety Team directly on 0191 525 5050.