<p><span>The government has announced a £30 million fund to reduce “excessive waking watch costs” in high rise buildings.</span><span></span></p><p><span>The Waking Watch Relief Fund, which opens in January, will pay for the installation of fire alarm systems in high rise buildings with cladding. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said this would reduce the need for interim safety measures, including “waking watch” – constant monitoring of fire threats.</span><span></span></p><p><span>Under the fund, leaseholders will be financially supported and receive a “better, long term fire safety system in their buildings”. The move follows recent guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council, stipulating that building owners should install common fire alarm systems “as quickly as possible” to move away from waking watches.</span><span></span></p><p><span>The fund will immediately be available to Wicker Riverside Apartments in Sheffield so that 35 recently evacuated families should be able to return home before Christmas. These residents had to vacate their properties last week when the building failed fire safety tests.</span><span></span></p><p><span>MHCLG has also extended the deadline for applications to its £1 billion Building Safety Fund by six months. The new deadline for submissions is June 30 2021. “This means hundreds more buildings will be remediated and thousands of leasehold residents will …