Leader expresses 'profound disappointment' over Government stance on sprinkler systemsListen to this page
At the meeting of Douglas Borough Council held on Wednesday July 14, 2010 Members voiced their profound disappointment that the Department of Social Care had taken the decision not to support the Council’s policy to install sprinkler systems in new-build public sector housing.
The Council was advised that the Department would only support such installations where required under building regulations and that it did not wish public sector housing construction practices to differ from those of the private sector, therefore should the Council wish to implement the policy it would have to meet the associated cost in full as a rate-borne expense.
Council Leader David Christian JP spoke for all Members when he said that the Department’s decision was ‘bitterly disappointing’ and that the Council would not countenance rate-borne funding of sprinkler systems. He continued: ‘Perhaps had more members of government attended the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service’s exercise last year which demonstrated to graphic effect that sprinkler systems save lives, then the Department would never have arrived at this short-sighted conclusion. The cost of installing sprinkler systems in new-build properties is relatively modest – in the region of £2,600 per unit - and I am saddened and appalled that the Department is effectively putting funding before safety considerations. Our response will be to send a strongly worded letter to the Minister urging government to review its priorities and expressing the Council’s extreme disappointment that the Department should have made such an ill-considered decision - a decision that does not augur well for future cordial relations between Douglas Borough Council and the Department of Social Care.’
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