Grenfell Tower
Cladding remediation work to pick up pace
Vital building safety work to replace unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings that had ‘significantly slowed down’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will resume, it has been announced.
Keeping tenants and leaseholders safe – the immediate challenge
The challenge of the new building safety regime will be best met by involving all council departments and by close engagement with tenants and stakeholders, say Ian Doolittle and Rebecca Rees.
Grenfell taskforce to ‘stand down’
The Government has announced that the taskforce formed to help Kensington & Chelsea LBC respond to the Grenfell tragedy is to stand down at the end of the month.
The benefits of digital aid
Charles Skinner argues any proven off-the-shelf system that can join up many players during incident and emergencies under a digital umbrella must be worth serious consideration.
Budget 2020: £1bn building safety fund to remove unsafe cladding
A new £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings has been unveiled today by the chancellor.
Select committee launches cladding inquiry
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has launched a new inquiry into the pace of removing dangerous cladding from high-risk buildings across the country.
Owners of buildings with dangerous cladding named and shamed
The Government has published the names of five companies that have been deemed too slow in making safe dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings.
Pressure mounts for extension of Grenfell cladding fund
MPs have called for more funds to be released to pay for the replacement of flammable cladding on high-rise buildings.
Councils threat to Grenfell firms
Councils would be unlikely to use products from any company that fails to cooperate fully with the Grenfell Tower inquiry, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
K&C against contractors' immunity bid
Kensington and Chelsea RLBC has distanced itself from efforts by Grenfell Tower contractors to receive immunity from prosecution for their evidence to the disaster’s inquiry.
Council to face Grenfell inquiry
Kensington and Chelsea LBC has become the only party involved in the second phase of the Grenfell inquiry to concede its role in the disaster.
Sector presses for further action on cladding
Building safety reforms billed as the ‘biggest change for a generation’ do not go far enough to clamp down on potentially dangerous cladding, councils argued this week.
Preventing future Grenfells
Not much has been done to expedite changes to prevent another Grenfell tragedy, argues Sir Bob Neill. He says it’s time the problems were addressed collaboratively by Government and local authorities.
Enforcement looms over Grenfell-style cladding towers
Plans are yet to be put forward to remove potentially dangerous Grenfell-style cladding on dozens of tower blocks.
Grenfell council adopts participatory budgeting
The council at the centre of the Grenfell Tower tragedy has used participatory budgeting for the first time as part of a new strategy.
Council hires Grenfell construction firm
Maidstone BC has named a construction firm involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower as its preferred bidder for a planned innovation centre.
Camden in £130m High Court claim against contractors
Legal action has been launched by Camden LBC to recover costs of £130m against a group of contractors.
Government's building safety appointment was 'a mistake', says Porter
Former Local Government Association (LGA) chairman Lord Porter has branded the appointment of Dame Judith Hackitt as government adviser on a new building safety regulator ‘a mistake’.
‘Reform of this broken system cannot come soon enough’
The first phase report of the Grenfell public inquiry may have focused on the weaknesses in the fire and rescue service’s response, but there was much for local authorities to take away, says Paul Marinko.
Transparency: the only way to end public distrust in high-rise social housing
Current compliance processes are not fit for purpose, argues Tracie Williams – and many authorities and landlords have little oversight of the safety equipment in their properties or how effectively they are being maintained.
