A string of fire safety measures costing £21.9 million will be rolled out in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Barnet Council will use the money to fit sprinkler systems in high-rise blocks, provide new fire doors and replace cladding on the outside of council-owned buildings.

Some £16.9 million will come from the council’s housing revenue account, while a £5 million government grant has been secured for work already carried out to replace the cladding on the Granville Road tower blocks in Childs Hill.

Agreed by the council’s housing committee yesterday (Monday, January 14), it takes the total investment made in response to the Grenfell Tower fire to almost £52 million.

Chair of the committee Cllr Gabriel Rozenberg said: “We are making good on our promise in the immediate aftermath of Grenfell to move beyond what is simply a required statutory level towards best practice – and that obviously carries widespread support.

“This is a very major programme of fire safety improvements.”

The extra funding will be used to install sprinklers on all buildings with ten or more floors and two stairwells, in addition to sheltered housing and hostels.

It will also be used to carry out fire risk assessments in low and medium-rise buildings and to fit more smoke and heat detection systems.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 composite fire doors have been earmarked for replacement after government tests showed they did not meet safety standards.

The recladding of the Granville Road tower blocks was completed before October after it was found to contain material similar to that used on Grenfell Tower.

Combustible cladding played a major role in enabling the spread of the Grenfell fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people.

The committee heard that two privately owned housing blocks taller than 18 metres are clad in material that has failed the government’s fire safety tests.

One of the owners plans to replace the cladding, while the other is awaiting the outcome of tribunal hearings before confirming their intention.

The housing committee unanimously approved the report’s recommendations to carry out the additional work.