A tale of two towers - how fire safety differs at luxury London high-rise and Margate estate

Completed successful 2020, it is the tallest chiefly residential gathering successful Europe, soaring 784ft (239m) and 75 floors into the sky. It has a gym, extortion terrace and designated pilates area.

Inside, 1 of 3 concierges ask, without smiling, who I’m visiting, and I’m shown to 1 of the lifts. Apparently they don’t usually fto you successful without a name.

Seven years ago, the catastrophic occurrence astatine Grenfell Tower led to changes successful however high-rises should beryllium designed to support residents harmless during a blaze.

But problems persist successful existing blocks.

I’ve visited the Landmark Pinnacle arsenic good arsenic Invicta House, a council-owned artifact connected an property conscionable extracurricular Margate. While determination are important differences, concerns person crept up astatine both.

Invicta House, built successful the 1960s connected the Isle of Thanet, successful East Kent, is simply a specified 14 floors and stands austere among chiefly low-rise housing.

There are nary doorway unit here, and I tailgated immoderate residents done a starkly decorated lobby.

Both towers person stunning views - of the Kent seashore and the looping Thames respectively. But determination is nary denying the economical gulf betwixt those connected minimum wage and benefits astatine Invicta House, and the metropolis workers and well-off overseas students surviving astatine the Landmark Pinnacle.

You could bargain 15 one-bed flats astatine Invicta House for the aforesaid terms arsenic a workplace flat conscionable implicit 70-miles away, successful the Landmark Pinnacle successful Canary Wharf.

Invicta nonmigratory David Bond is simply a assembly tenant, and arrogant of his subject work successful Cold War Germany, signified by 2 exemplary tanks cautiously displayed connected his sideboard.

The artifact is simply a spot wherever “people support themselves to themselves”, helium says, admitting helium prefers it this way.

There are drug-users, drinkers and prison-leavers among his neighbours, and “too galore dogs”, helium complains. The overpowering odor successful the building’s lifts, respective residents explain, is canine urine.

In spite of their differences, thing the residents of some Invicta House and Landmark Pinnacle person successful communal is their implicit reliance connected lifts.

On a precocious level astatine Invicta, John - who asked maine not to usage his existent sanction - says the 2 lifts successful the building, which service unusual and adjacent floors, perpetually interruption down. Engineers usage parts from 1 to hole the other.

John has a fig of aesculapian conditions and walking up the stairs conscionable isn’t an option.

“You fearfulness going retired successful lawsuit you get backmost and find the lifts aren't working,” helium says. Sometimes helium has had to enactment with friends alternatively of going home.

At the Landmark Pinnacle gathering a assistance takes maine to the 13th level successful a substance of seconds.

Two years ago, Guy Benson, a young metropolis idiosyncratic and portion clip Liberal Democrat activist, bought 25% of the lease for his £700,000 level nether a shared ownership scheme.

Landmark Pinnacle has besides had lifts retired of action, and 1 isn’t moving contiguous - but Guy puts that down to teething problems.

“It's similar gathering a monolithic instrumentality and you don't get everything close the archetypal time,” helium says, adding that having much lifts would astir apt beryllium helpful. The gathering already has seven.

Using the stairs would beryllium daunting. Looking down the stairwell from the 75th level the landings look to agelong into infinity.

What happened astatine Grenfell Tower successful 2017, erstwhile a devastating occurrence destroyed the gathering and 72 radical mislaid their lives, raised large questions astir the plan and cognition of high-rise towers, and the effect of their residents successful an emergency. There has been overmuch treatment astir staircases.

As a effect of Grenfell, from 2026 each caller buildings implicit 59ft (18m) indispensable person 2 staircases - 1 for firefighters to spell up to tackle fires, the different for residents to travel down successful a “simultaneous evacuation”. Lifts aren’t recommended successful a fire.

Unsurprisingly, Invicta House, built much than 5 decades ago, has a azygous staircase.

But the state-of-the-art Landmark Pinnacle, completed successful the aftermath of a gathering information crisis, was besides designed to person lone one. Adding different staircase to a gathering already nether operation erstwhile the instrumentality changed wasn’t practical, it seems, but 2 could person been portion of the archetypal design.

Both towers person had caller fires.

In 2021, a candle acceptable airy to a level astatine the Landmark Pinnacle connected a level successful the 30s. Some residents couldn’t perceive a occurrence alarm and similar those astatine Grenfell had to determine to enactment enactment oregon get out.

The gathering has a “stay put” argumentation due to the fact that it is designed truthful fires can’t dispersed betwixt flats. Alarms don’t adjacent spell disconnected connected unaffected floors.

Yet successful Facebook messages shown to the BBC, residents - immoderate of whom could odor burning and spot occurrence trucks gathering extracurricular - look confused astir what to do. Grenfell was doubtless connected everyone’s mind.

The occurrence was swiftly enactment out, with the assistance of the in-built sprinkler system.

And should determination beryllium different fire, Guy Benson has religion that the mode this gathering has been designed volition support him safe.

“I don't consciousness astatine hazard astatine all,” helium says.

At Invicta House determination has been a spate of fires, seemingly started deliberately, successful chutes utilized to nonstop rubbish to the crushed floor. Jane, 1 of the residents, describes opening her doorway to a heavy partition of smoke.

But 7 years aft Grenfell - and successful opposition to Landmark Pinnacle - Invicta House is inactive a occurrence risk. In particular, the combustible polystyrene insulation connected its walls. Planning support to region it was granted successful March, but the work, predicted to commencement successful April this year, inactive hasn’t.

The rubbish chutes person been modified to deter arsonists, and a trained occurrence warden patrols astir the clock. Like Grenfell, there’s a hazard that immoderate occurrence would dispersed passim this building, truthful residents are advised to “get out” if the alarms spell disconnected - and that means taking the stairs.

“I can't get down the stairs,” says Jane, “I'm connected crutches.” Last clip the occurrence alarm went off, she says she conscionable unopen the door.

On different level an bare wheelchair sits connected a landing, a awesome of the vulnerability of galore successful the building.

The residents chiefly rent, truthful aren’t stuck with a level they can’t merchantability similar galore astir the state - but astir person nary different lodging options.

John - who moved present aft a occurrence successful his erstwhile accommodation - pays £70 a week rent.

“I'm fortunate to person a spot that I tin afford,” helium says, “and erstwhile I adjacent the doorway I've closed the extracurricular satellite out.”

The quality successful occurrence information experiences betwixt operation artifact residents astatine other ends of the economical spectrum greatly concerns Dr Barbara Lane, 1 of the Grenfell Tower nationalist inquiry’s adept witnesses, who argues that removing this “inequity” should beryllium a priority.

To bash truthful would necessitate a broad introspection of the existing occurrence risks of older buildings, proactively removing them, and reasoning much cautiously astir however susceptible radical volition get retired - concentrating arsenic overmuch connected “disabled egress” arsenic disabled access.

For those tenants who request other help, Thanet District Council offers a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. This is already a proposal of the Grenfell Tower nationalist inquiry, and the authorities has precocious announced that offering an evacuation program is to go a ineligible request for gathering owners.

The residents of the Landmark Pinnacle and Invicta House person thing other successful communal - a grade of powerlessness.

They each unrecorded successful a gathering they bash not own. The tenants successful Margate trust connected Thanet District Council. The leaseholders successful eastbound London, connected their gathering manager.

On the 13th level of the Landmark Pinnacle, Guy Benson studies a spreadsheet astatine a model which looks retired implicit an expanse of southbound London.

He is disquieted astir his increasing vigor bills and work charges - contempt not paying other for entree to the Landmark’s gym and backstage cinema. He agrees determination is simply a powerfulness imbalance.

“You're ne'er capable to negate it, you bash person little control, " helium says. "Being capable to recognize the strategy and the levers you person to propulsion is perfectly an vantage - but you shouldn't person to go a spot instrumentality expert.”

Another nonmigratory astatine the Landmark Pinnacle, Alex - not his existent sanction - echoes the presumption of galore leaseholders successful England and Wales of their landlords.

“We consciousness similar we are getting ripped off. There's thing we tin do. It's similar paying taxes but without being capable to get escaped of your government.”

Alex wants the Landmark Pinnacle’s residents to workout their Right to Manage. He has asked the gathering managers, Rendall & Rittner, to interaction the owners of each level to fto them cognize astir his program - but says they person refused. Alex reckons the absorption institution is protecting its ain interests. However, Rendall & Rittner, told the BBC it has not received immoderate requests from residents astir Right to Manage.

The authorities plans further reforms to leasehold laws gathering connected changes introduced by the Conservatives.

In Kent, David Bond, who has a oversea presumption from his balcony, says assembly officials “build a large wall” erstwhile helium raises concerns astir the lifts and delays to gathering information work. He doesn’t blasted the lodging officers helium deals with, but says they are “struggling with regulations”.

“People don't instrumentality america seriously,” helium says. “We should halt paying the rent and past it would go serious.”

A spokesperson for Rendall & Rittner, the absorption institution that runs Landmark Pinnacle, told the BBC the building's enactment enactment argumentation is communicated to each residents and leaseholders regularly. A request acceptable by London Fire Brigade, it "forms portion of the wide occurrence strategy and Fire Risk Assessment that is reviewed by specializer consultants to guarantee the highest level of compliance".

Rendall & Rittner said it "endeavours to support work charges arsenic tenable arsenic possible, nevertheless caller requirements brought successful by the Building Safety Act, unneurotic with the outgo of surviving and vigor crisis, person contributed to expanding costs", portion highlighting that though 1 of the Landmark Pinnacle's 7 lifts is presently undergoing wide attraction this is astatine nary further outgo to leaseholders.

A spokesperon for Thanet District Council told the BBC the information of its residents is "paramount”, and that they “work intimately with the Kent Fire and Rescue Service”.

The connection continues: “Work astatine Invicta House, which includes the replacement of the outer partition insulation, is present planned to commencement successful May 2025.

"In 2019, the occurrence extortion was upgraded successful the building’s stairwells, each the occurrence doors were replaced and the occurrence alarm strategy was upgraded. We moved from a ‘stay enactment policy’ to ‘simultaneous evacuation’ successful July 2021. All residents indispensable evacuate the artifact if they perceive the occurrence alarm."

Living astatine tallness isn’t for everyone, but those I spoke to said, connected balance, they liked looking down connected the remainder of us.

“I wouldn't person chosen to unrecorded here,” says John, astatine Invicta House, “but I cognize much of my neighbours present than I've ever known surviving elsewhere.”

For Alex, astatine Landmark Pinnacle, high-rise surviving has galore benefits.

“We can't each unrecorded successful detached houses,” helium says, arguing that connected an land abbreviated connected space, gathering upwards was the astir sustainable option.

“It's bully to person radical astir you - it makes you much open-minded.”