Release date: 2 March 2023
A legal partnership between West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service and the Churchill Retirement Living Group has been established to help ensure customers remain safe from fire.
Following a vigorous legal process, Churchill Retirement Living (Churchill) has selected West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS) to be the Primary Authority for their business. The partnership will see WSFRS provide assured and consistent advice on fire safety regulations to make it easier for the company to comply with legislation across their organisation.
Primary Authority Schemes work on a cost recovery basis and are designed to give businesses greater confidence and consistency to reduce the risk of contravening legislation by having a single point of contact to work with.
Going forward, other fire and rescue services must respect this advice when regulating their Churchill premises in areas outside of West Sussex.
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer, and National Fire Chiefs Council’s Lead for Business Engagement, Mark Andrews said: “I am delighted to be working on this partnership to help manage fire safety within Churchill buildings.
“Following on from the Grenfell Tower fire, fire safety regulations for multi-occupied residential buildings have changed enormously, and will continue to do so. It’s vital that responsible persons fully understand the changes and implement the necessary adjustments to meet legal requirements.
“Fire safety was introduced into the Primary Authority Scheme in 2014, but this is the first Primary Authority that West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has agreed to. I believe that Churchill’s values underpin everything we stand for, with both organisations aiming to keep its communities safe from harm and this shared value stands us in good stead to fulfil a successful and productive partnership.”
Hugh Lambourne, Managing Director of Churchill’s property management business, added: “At Churchill we have always taken fire safety extremely seriously, so we are thrilled to have agreed this new partnership with West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service. We look forward to working closely with them to ensure a consistent approach at the 200+ developments we manage nationwide, ultimately helping to keep our apartment owners safe.”
Primary Authority is administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
More information on Primary Authorities can be found on the Government website.
