Here's how much is being spent making your Portsmouth tower block safer
Portsmouth is spending millions making its tower blocks safer - here's which ones
A £120m programme to carry out fire safety work across its high-rise housing blocks has been launched by Portsmouth City Council.
The scheme will cover a number of the city’s tallest residential towers as well as some smaller blocks, with the council hoping to appoint contractors by October.
A council spokesperson said: “This framework relates to 12 high-rise buildings out of the total 22 blocks; the other 10 high-rise buildings have had works procured separately. It will also allow us to award mid-rise remediation projects to contractors as well.”
The programme is worth between £60m and £120m in total, with the works aimed at completing “Fire Risk Assessment actions for high and medium rise blocks of flats by 2030.”
Mill Gate House, a 21-storey block containing 76 flats, will be the first building tackled. Work there will include new fire doors, smoke ventilation systems and electrical upgrades, with building work expected to start in April 2027.
The work is divided into four packages. The first covers Mill Gate House (£5.5m), Omega House (£2.5m) and Grenville House (£1m). The second covers Grafton Street (£4m), Estella Road (£4m) and Darwin House (£1m).
The third covers Handsworth House (£5m), Blackwood House (£1m) and Brisbane House (£1m), and the fourth covers Copperfield House (£3m), Pickwick House (£3m) and Grosvenor House (£1m).
Works carried out across the programme will include fire stopping, compartmentation upgrades, fire doors, sprinkler systems, evacuation alert systems, smoke ventilation, emergency lighting, structural repairs, asbestos removal and lift upgrades.
The spokesperson added: “The programme was part of our capital investment plan set out to our residents earlier in the year, the timings are in line with the Building Safety Remediation Programme published this year and approved at the Cabinet Member for Housing and Tackling Homelessness decision meeting on 10 March 2026.
“This is funded through the PCC housing services capital programme.”
New consumer standards introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing in April 2024 mean the council must accelerate improvements, although all homes are currently safe to live in.
Tenants can expect inspections as part of stock condition and electrical programmes, with further visits possible if repair work is needed.
Residents in flats will also see maintenance work linked to fire safety assessments, and some in high-rise blocks may need to temporarily move out while work takes place.