New Gentoo team to apply Grenfell Tower safety lessons

Sunderland property giant Gentoo is setting up a new safety team in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

More than 70 people died when fire swept through the block in London's North Kensington in 2017.

Now Gentoo has established a safety team to meet the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022, which was published following the disaster.

The move is part of a £2.4million investment into building safety.

The team, which will be ld by Gentoo’s Head of Health, Safety and Environment, Gemma Darville, will be working closely with colleagues from across the organisation including property maintenance, property investment and housing, as well as engaging with tenants living in the Group’s high-rise residential buildings and developing safety cases to demonstrate to the Building Safety Regulator that each building is safe to occupy.

"Building safety is a big priority at Gentoo and by creating a new team that will work closely across the organisation, we’re committed to making sure our tenants are safe in their homes," said Gemma Darville.

Gentoo says the move will ensure tenants are at the forefront of decision making in each building and are encouraged to raise building safety queries and concerns.

The group has invested £1.8million on building safety over the last financial year to ensure their 2,000 tenants in their 25 high rise residential buildings in Sunderland are safe, with a further £2.4million to be invested this financial year.

Stephen Flounders, Director of Risk and Assurance at Gentoo, said: "We’re delighted to have a new team that are dedicated to building safety. With the creation of the team, we are now working closely with other parts of the organisation, our tenants and the housing sector to deliver best practice and provide safe homes for our tenants."

Anyone who would like to contact the team can email [email protected]