The York Council says that it does not know whether there are any private sector flats in York which may have an increased fire risk of the type that led to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Although Council owned properties have been inspected and given a clean bill of health, the Council does not hold any information on approximately 40% of similar properties in the private sector.

The anomaly comes because these developments were supervised by private sector “Approved Inspectors” rather than the Councils own building regulation staff.

A report to a meeting taking place next week explains why no central register is available and hints that private inspectors may have slightly different interpretation of building regulations

“In terms of assurances that can be given on whether non-council owned high rise residential buildings in York meet existing and future fire safety building regulation, the picture is unclear as the council is not the only provider of building regulation services. Currently CYC supervises 60% of construction within the authority boundary with 40% being provided by private service providers (Approved Inspectors (AIs)).

 This means that on approximately 40% of developments, CYC will not have access to any constructional information, and therefore can provide no assurances about fire safety regulations in place, if they are not the appointed building regulation service provider.

Approximately 10 -15 different AI companies work within council’s area at any given time, each providing differing interpretations of the building regulations.

The council could consider whether it should contribute to the Hackitt review in light of this issue”.

The issue has been revealed following a request for a report from Environment Chief Cllr Andrew Waller.

The meeting will also be updated on plans to install sprinkler systems in vulnerable public buildings in the City