Companies to be prosecuted following major fire at retirement village

Their first court appearance will be exactly four years to the day of the fire.

The incident on August 8 2019 was one of the biggest ever attended by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service with 70 firefighters deployed at its height to bring the fire under control. More than 150 residents lost their homes and possessions and while no one was injured, the fire had a significant impact on their lives.

Since 2019 the Service has worked tirelessly to investigate the cause of the fire and establish any potential breaches of fire safety legislation. This has been a long and complex process owing to the scale of the fire and the number of parties involved in designing, building, maintaining and managing the building.

As a result of the investigation, the Service is bringing charges against six companies for failing to comply with the Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005.

They will appear at Warrington Magistrates Court on Tuesday 8 August.

Avantage (Cheshire) Ltd. Contracted to procure the design, build, finance and operate the village. Avantage is a subsidiary of Your Housing Ltd.

Your Housing Ltd. Employed staff at Beechmere and as such was the ‘responsible person’ for fire safety measures as defined by Article 3(a) of the Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005.

Morgan Sindall Property Services Ltd. The facilities management subcontractor to Avantage, with responsibility for responsive repairs and cyclical maintenance.

WSP UK Ltd. Contracted to produce a detailed fire strategy in 2007 and in 2008 produce an operational fire safety manual and carry out a fire risk assessment of Beechmere.

Total Fire Group Ltd. Contracted to carry out fire risk assessments in August 2017 and August 2018 at both Beechmere and Hazelmere retirement villages.

MAC Roofing and Contractors Ltd. Contracted by Morgan Sindall Property Services Ltd. to undertake roofing works at Beechmere between 6 and 8 August 2019.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has set up a dedicated information hub on its website, where full details of the charges against the companies can be found: 

https://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/beechmere

During the course of the investigation, alleged breaches of the Fire Safety (Regulatory Reform) Order 2005 were also discovered at another retirement village, Hazelmere on Hambleton Way, Winsford.

A number of charges have been laid in respect of these failures, in addition to those at Beechmere. Remedial work to rectify these issues has already been carried out at Hazelmere and the other ‘mere’ retirement complexes in the area that were built to the same design specification and managed by Your Housing. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is satisfied that fire risk in these properties is now appropriately managed.