A building in Oxford is still being classified as six-storeys tall despite an independent body saying it is seven-storeys as fire safety concerns persist.
The city council has written to residents to inform them of the outcome of a "joint inspection" with the fire and rescue service as part of the latest update in relation to Pound House at Templars Square in the Cowley area.
Despite not appearing to see eye-to-eye with the independent body on the building height, the council says it is undertaking all the advised measures.
In a letter addressed to residents dated August 20, the council said: "A fire risk assessment (FRA) in June concluded Pound House was a seven-storey building and should therefore be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as a high-rise building.
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"All previous FRAs have treated Pound House as a six-storey building with a mezzanine floor.
"We have asked the BSR for urgent clarification as buildings over 18 metres or at least seven-storeys tall must be registered with the regulator. Pound House is 16.5 metres tall."
Council housing chief Linda Smith added: "In light of the issue raised in the recent FRA, we sought an independent opinion from a fire engineer within an industry-recognised company.
"The fire engineer said: 'The staircase landings are arguably not full storeys, and are intermediary levels containing small ancillary spaces, to access three floors of residential accommodation which sit on top of three floors of retail, thus more conventionally falling within the definition of a six-storey building'.
"The FRA did produce fire risk assessment actions and many of these were based on Pound House being an unregistered high-rise block.
"They would not necessarily be relevant for a building that didn’t need registration with the Building Safety Regulator."
The council says it has also identified action it will take in the meantime such as replacing all front doors to flats with 30-minute fire doors and replacing storeroom doors with fire-resistant doors.
A city council spokesman added: “We are doing this regardless of whether the regulator advises that Pound House is six or seven storeys tall or should be classified as a 'higher risk building' as we will not compromise residents' safety and wellbeing."
The debate comes as Pound House has previously suffered a series of break-ins causing residents to say they "lived in fear".
Several charitable organisations had joined forces with Pound House residents to "campaign for their security and advocate for major repairs in the building".
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About the author
Noor is the Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire who covers political stories from across the county.
She began working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023 having graduated from the University of Oxford.
Noor was trained at the News Associates journalism school and can be found on X through the handle @NoorJQurashi
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