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Camden starts Chalcots cladding removal
Work to remove cladding from tower blocks on the Chalcots Estate in Camden starts this week, with the process expected to take several months.
Camden Council announced in June that it would be removing the cladding after an independent test by the Building Research Establishment found the system is similar to that used on Grenfell Tower, but delayed the work until results from the government’s later in-depth tests were released.
Cladding will initially be removed from the bottom two floors of the Blashford and Burnham blocks on the estate.
A specialist team will then assess this work and set out a plan to remove cladding from the five towers, beginning at the end of September.
Round-the-clock fire wardens will remain in the blocks until the work is complete.
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“Residents have made it clear to me that they don’t want this material on their building and we’re determined to move fast and take it off,” said Georgia Gould, leader of Camden Council.
“The government has carried out full cladding system combustibility tests but they are not yet in a position to provide any guidance on what new materials or products to use. We await this advice but we have decided that it would be wrong to wait any longer to remove the cladding.”
Camden has become embroiled in a dispute with Rydon, the firm which installed the cladding and also carried out a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in 2016.
The contractor has threatened the council with legal action after Ms Gould said the panels fitted on the Chalcots Estate towers “were not to the standard that we had commissioned”.
Residents were evacuated from the five buildings over fire safety fears after the devastating blaze at Grenfell Tower in north Kensington and were invited back in late July once emergency internal works had been completed.
However some residents have raised concerns about the upgrades, with the BBC finding that one resident’s fire door closer had already broken just a week later.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
