Residents have welcomed major safety works planned for Portsmouth’s high-rise council blocks.

The city council has noted its 2030 Buildings Project, a £110m programme to upgrade tower blocks and meet new national safety standards introduced after the Grenfell tragedy.

Over the next five years, residents will see extensive safety and efficiency works carried out. Some tenants will need to move out temporarily while work takes place. Council officers say tenants will get plenty of notice and full support from housing teams. In most cases, people will move to another flat within the same block for a few weeks.

The council expects to finish or be working on most high-rises by 2030. A detailed decant plan is still being developed. The work will include stock condition surveys, updated electrical checks, and issuing new energy performance certificates. The move follows a report earlier this year in which the Regulator for Social Housing gave the council a C3 rating.

placeholder image — Tower blocks in Buckland

At a recent cabinet meeting, a spokesperson from the Portsmouth Residents Consortium said: “As a former resident of Horatia House I have to say I’m very pleased this is going ahead and doing so with new regulations.”

Councillor Derek North, who is also a council tenant, asked how residents would be kept informed and consulted about the decants.

Officers said every tenant will receive a letter before the surveys begin, including FAQs and contact details for further support.

Cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, Councillor Darren Sanders, said the projects would “mean a change in the priorities and the budgets that will occur over the next few years.”

“It’s important that we outline to everybody, our residents in particular, the direction of travel now and the issues we face – it’s important to be open and honest with people,” he added.