Canterbury’s Tannery bosses are fitting extra “fire detection units” into the city centre development following last year’s devastating blaze.

Town & Country Housing, which manages the site, admits a new report has highlighted concerns about the potential spread of fire through the buildings.

It says it is now carrying out “additional safety measures” agreed with the fire services.

Fourteen properties were gutted and many more damaged when the blaze tore through the development at frightening speed last July.

Miraculously, no one was hurt though many speculated the outcome could have been catastrophic had the fire broken out at night.

Earlier this year, the Kentish Gazette newspaper revealed that no official reports nor investigations had been conducted into the cause and spread.

The revelation prompted Canterbury City Council to vow to lobby government on tightening building regulations.

The authority will also strongly recommend developers of new-build timber-framed mass housing to install sprinkler systems.

In a surveyors’ report commissioned by Town & Country, experts have “identified potential issues relating to fire separation between dwellings, in particular the cavity barriers”.

Town & Country says the report has prompted it to fit “additional fire detection units to our properties, which we anticipate will be completed in the next couple of days”.

The city centre development of more than 400 homes is of a timber-framed construction.

At the time of the blaze, firefighters expressed concern over the speed at which the flames had spread.

However, Bellway Homes, which built the homes, had complied with all necessary building regulations.

Town & Country said today: “It is really important to understand that there are no additional risks of a fire starting at the Tannery.

“We are of course disappointed by the news of this report, however we are confident that we have acted swiftly to ensure the safety of our residents.”

Canterbury City Council has welcomed the installation of new fire detection units.

Larissa Reed, assistant director of direct services, said: “Keeping people safe from fire is a priority and is one of the reasons why we will be lobbying for a change to building regulations to require sprinkler systems on all new multi-storey timber framed buildings and recommending their installation in all new such developments in our district in the meantime. “