Fire risk assessment in Lewisham

Deptford, Brockley and New Cross have dense Victorian and Edwardian terraces converted into flats and HMOs, often above shopfronts along main roads. Catford, Sydenham and Bellingham contain large post-war estate blocks, generally low to mid-rise with deck or corridor access. Lewisham town centre and the riverside have seen extensive high-rise and mid-rise residential development, including several tall towers. Blackheath and the southern fringes are more suburban.

Lewisham operates additional licensing for HMOs across the borough and has run selective licensing schemes in the past. Confirm the current boundary and renewal date with Lewisham Council before submitting an application. The high volume of converted stock means licence-ready reporting is a regular requirement here.

Lewisham sits within ULEZ, and parking around Deptford, Lewisham town centre and Blackheath is controlled. We generally allow extra time for parking and access. Estate blocks are typically managed by the council or housing associations, requiring caretaker coordination. Reports are delivered within 24 hours of the visit.

The Victorian terraces along Deptford High Street, New Cross Road and Brockley's main roads frequently combine a ground-floor shop or takeaway with converted flats above, a pattern we assess constantly in this part of the borough. The residential means of escape often runs through or immediately alongside the commercial unit's rear access, so we look closely at whether the fire door separating shop and flat access is maintained, self-closing and free from obstruction by stock or bins. Loft conversions are common across this stock too, frequently added without a corresponding review of whether the single staircase still gives adequate escape time once a third storey of habitable rooms has been created.

The large post-war estates around Catford, Bellingham and Sydenham are generally low to mid-rise, built from concrete or brick with deck or corridor access and communal stairwells serving a significant number of flats. Common findings here include fire-stopping gaps around communal service risers that have accumulated as heating, electrical and communications works have been carried out over decades, damaged intumescent seals on communal fire doors, and mobility scooters or pushchairs stored in stairwells that narrow the protected route. Access is generally straightforward once arranged with the council or housing association caretaker, but coordinating a visit that covers every relevant block on a larger estate can take some pre-planning.

The regeneration around Lewisham town centre and the riverside has brought a number of tall residential towers, several of which fall within scope of the Building Safety Act's higher-risk building regime and require ongoing building safety case documentation rather than a standalone fire risk assessment alone. For these buildings we work alongside the appointed principal accountable person or building safety manager where one is in place, and our assessment is written to sit clearly within that wider documentation rather than duplicate it. First annual reviews after handover typically focus on whether communal fire doors, smoke control systems and evacuation alert systems installed at construction are still performing as designed.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the freeholder, managing agent, landlord or employer must ensure a written fire risk assessment exists, is acted upon, and is reviewed at least annually. Buildings over 11 metres also require quarterly communal fire door checks, annual flat entrance door checks and wayfinding signage. We can deliver all of it in one visit.