As you will have seen in previous blog posts, there is some new government funding. It is a £27 million funding pot. It is called the Waking Watch Replacement Fund. This funding has been created to pay for the installation for fire alarm systems. In turn, it will remove the need for costly waking watches in buildings, regardless of the height of the building.
The Waking Watch Replacement Fund is a new funding pot. It is in addition to the previous funding pot of £35 million. This was known as the Waking Watch Relief Fund. The funding comes off the back of a building safety announcement by Michael Gove in the House of Commons on 10th January. It builds on previous funding to ensure cover is offered to cover all residential buildings in England where a waking watch patrol is already in place.
Data provided by the government shows that 323 buildings over 18 metres in height have been approved for the previous pot of funding. This funding is estimated to have affected nearly 25,000 homes. The funding has resulted in leaseholders saving around £163 per month. This comes from when the switch is made from costly waking watches to the reliability and cost-effective installation of fire alarms.
Lord Greenhalgh is the Minister of State for Building Safety and Fire. He has been quoted saying that he feels it is unacceptable that innocent leaseholders are still facing fire risks in their own homes. However, on top of this they are also being subjected to the disgraceful misuse of rip-off measures and costly waking watches.
The waking watch replacement fund has been set out to cover the reasonable costs for the installation of a common fire alarm in eligible buildings.
So, will this new funding pot see the end to costly waking watches?
£27 million sounds like a large amount. However, there are lot of eligible buildings that could use this funding. The funding is being awarded on a first come, first serve basis. On top of this, the funding pot closes in March this year.
The ‘Responsible Person’ will need to act quickly to apply for this funding. Then they can see an end to costly waking watches in their building.
If you need help applying for the funding call our specialist fire alarm funding team. We can help you to complete your funding application. Our team can also quote for the fire alarm installation too.
