A high-rise block of flats and shops is set to be placed under 24-hour watch after failing Government fire safety tests implemented in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Bradford Council announced today that a sample of external cladding taken from Landmark House, a prominent seven-storey building on Broadway, in Bradford city centre, had fallen below the required standards.

The authority said while there was “no need” to evacuate the site, “increased surveillance” would be introduced, and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) said a series of new interim safety measures would include 24/7 patrols.

A meeting is set to be held at City Hall next week for any residents concerned over safety failings of the building, which houses 91 apartments and a number of commercial units.

WYFRS said that to date, Landmark House was the only building anywhere across the Bradford district to have failed a cladding test.

In a statement, Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “Following the terrible Grenfell Tower tragedy, we have made it our immediate priority to check the risk in high-rise accommodation and ensure that the housing landlords give all relevant information about their stock to the Government.

“We worked with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to prioritise the tallest buildings in the district, those of six storeys and above. As well as working with social housing landlords we have also written to the owners and managers of tall private sector buildings in the district to inform them of the Government testing programme so they are clear they should have the cladding on their buildings tested free of charge.

“The owners of Landmark House have been advised that the building has failed a Government fire safety test on its cladding after a sample was sent off. Our housing and building control staff immediately met with the fire service, the owner and the management company to further assess the situation.

“We have been advised that there is no need to immediately evacuate the premises. The landlord will engage with the tenants so they fully understand how to proceed in the event of a fire and ensure all the fire procedure notices are accurate.

“Residents all have smoke alarms present in their flats which they need to check are working on a regular basis. There is also a common alarm system which if activated, triggers a full evacuation. There will be increased surveillance introduced. We understand that residents will be obviously concerned about this news but we have offered to facilitate a meeting in City Hall for residents and this is likely to take place next week.

“The Chief Executive has liaised with the Department for Communities and Local Government who confirm that we are acting in accordance with their guidance and they are satisfied with the action being taken.”

One resident, who did not wish to be named but said he had lived in Landmark House since 2004, said he had received a letter today confirming the cladding had failed, and that new fire safety advice signs had been put up in the building’s reception area.

Asked whether he was okay with not being evacuated, the man said: “Yes and no. The cladding has come back as a risk. We’ve only had a letter, nothing else has been said yet about what they’re going to do.

“I noticed when they took the piece of cladding off, it was just like cardboard or brown wrapping paper, that’s all that was behind it. It’s taken a disaster for something like this to be done.”

WYFRS said it was working with the Council and the building's management to enhance fire safety and had agreed measures “to mitigate the risk of a break out of fire.”

WYFRS fire protection officer Nigel Charleston said: “As a result of the inspections we have carried out at Landmark House, the management have introduced interim arrangements which we have agreed. “These measures are designed to further enhance fire safety within the building and to mitigate the potential for a fire to break out. Residents should also be aware of the fire evacuation procedure in the building and that they have working smoke alarms in their flats. Should they have any concerns about the building they should report them to the landlord immediately.”

WYFRS said one of the interim measures would be the provision of a “24/7 fire watch by appropriately trained patrolling security officers”, and “hourly patrols of external areas adjacent to all ground floor retail units.”

The brigade also said it would be changing its pre-determined attendance (PDA) for any incident affecting the building, increasing the number of firefighters and appliances attending.

As a result of the Grenfell incident, WYFRS has now increased its PDA from four to six fire engines to a confirmed fire at a high-rise premises, one of which is a combined aerial rescue pump. If the incident affects a building that has failed a cladding test, such as Landmark House, the PDA will now be eight fire engines, two of which would be combined aerial rescue pumps.

Andrew Egerton, director of Hunters Residential Block Management, said: “Hunters Residential Block Management are the managing agents of Landmark House in Bradford, working on behalf of Broadway (Bradford) Management Company, and we are working closely with Bradford Council and WYFRS to ensure safety measures are implemented as agreed with the relevant authorities.”