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Government tasks research unit with speeding up cladding replacement process
The government has commissioned a technology research unit to find ways to speed up the process of removing and replacing dangerous cladding.
Government agency Innovate UK has handed the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) £250,000, asking it to devise faster ways to strip and replace systems that have failed fire safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Social landlords replacing cladding on their tower blocks have anticipated it could be more than a year before the work is complete.
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Newham Council, which is removing and replacing cladding on three high rises, expects the process to take 13 months.
Camden Council expects similar work on four buildings on its Chalcots Estate to take several months.
Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show a total of 266 buildings in England above 18 metres high have failed fire safety tests.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: “Following the fire at Grenfell Tower, investigations have found cladding on a large number of high-rise buildings must now be removed and replaced.
“The government is working with the Manufacturing Technology Centre and industry to identify possible approaches to removing and replacing this cladding, so that we can ensure that these high-rise buildings are made safe for residents as quickly as possible.”
Technicians from the research centre will work with teams undertaking cladding work to identify whether the process can be sped up through innovations in plants and scaffolding including through use of robots, according to The Guardian.
It is expected to give its final recommendations to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the DCLG by November.
The MTC declined to comment.
