Appeal for funding to fit sprinklers in local tower blocks

MINISTERS are being urged to offer up funding to install life-saving sprinkler systems in North Solihull's tower blocks.
A rough estimate, made after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, was that it would cost in the region of £8 million to fit the devices in all 37 high-rise buildings.
Solihull Council has now joined forces with 13 other local authorities to ask for money for the work to be carried out.
A letter was delivered direct to Downing Street on Tuesday of this week and housing bosses are waiting for a response.
It read: "Twenty one months after the Grenfell tragedy, tenants are still seeking reassurance that lessons have been learned and we now call upon the Government to prioritise the safety of residents living in tower blocks by funding this essential fire safety work."
The tragic events of June 2017, in which 72 people died, has led to renewed scrutiny of fire safety in flats across the country.
This included inspections of the various sites in Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood and Kingshurst & Fordbridge, most of which date to the housing boom in the 1960s.
While the checks following Grenfell confirmed that none of Solihull's buildings had been fitted with the cladding said to have accelerated the spread of the flames in West London, there has been various calls for sprinkler systems to be "retrofitted".
While the devices are required by law in all new tower blocks above a certain height, it is not compulsory to have them installed in existing buildings.
Other councils to have signed the letter include Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield.