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Cladding to be removed from development containing iconic 43-storey housing association tower
Residents of the iconic 43-storey Halo Tower have been warned to evacuate immediately if a fire breaks out after dangerous cladding was discovered on buildings in the same development.
A waking watch of fire wardens has been put in place at the luxury private rent tower, the largest housing association block in the country, a letter sent by housing association Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) last week revealed.
The letter said post-Grenfell inspections revealed parts of the 700-home development, which comprises a number of buildings on the edge of the Olympic Park in Stratford, are clad in flammable high-pressure laminate (HPL) panels which will need to be replaced.
A spokesperson for the organisation said the 43-storey tower itself was not effected by the issues, which related to other developments on the site.
However, residents of the tower have been warned to evacuate immediately if a fire breaks out.
HPL is not the same as that used on Grenfell Tower, but has been widely linked to fire safety fears and was used on Lakanal House in south London where six people were killed in a fire in 2009.
A study published earlier this year showed that HPL panels release heat 25 times faster and burn 115 times hotter than non-combustible products.
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In the letter to residents sent last Thursday, NHG said it had carried out fire safety inspections on the back of government recommendations after Grenfell.
The letter was sent directly to residents of the 43-storey tower, telling them dangerous cladding had been discovered and they should evacuate immediately if a fire broke out.
It said these inspections had found the panels “fall below the standards of fire safety expected by new regulations and will need to be replaced”.
A layer of insulation sitting behind the panels will also likely need replacement, the letter said.
It also said: “We are talking to the original contractor to ensure this work takes places as quickly as possible.”
And added: “Until such a time as the remedial work is completed and permanent arrangements are in place the advice in the event of a fire is full evacuation of the building.”
It said waking watch inspectors would patrol the tower 24 hours a day to alert residents to the risk of fire.
However, a spokesperson for NHG told Inside Housing the 400-home tower was not one of the developments affected by the cladding issues, which referred to other blocks in the 700-home development.
It is not clear why residents of the tower were among those to receive the warning.
“Our fire experts have been closely involved in reviewing our fire safety arrangements,” the letter said. “They have visited all buildings and are providing advice on all aspects of fire safety.”
A resident who spoke to Inside Housing said some people living in the tower were “concerned” that problems with the cladding had been found. Previous work carried out on the outside of the building to fix faulty windows had taken several months, he said, leading to worries about disruption.
An NHG spokesperson said: “Our original contractors are due to provide us, within the next few days, full details of how they propose to replace the cladding. In the meantime, as an additional precautionary measure, they will be on site from [today] to remove sections of cladding and insulation in a small number of locations. Once these are removed, temporary cladding will be erected to ensure the buildings are weather proof. The tower is not one of the sites affected.
“The temporary works are intended to reduce risk ahead of the permanent replacement of all panels in due course, and we expect them to take about 10 days to complete. While the temporary work takes place, we have implemented a waking watch and a full evacuation policy across the entire site."
Halo Tower is the largest housing association owned block in the country and contains more than 400 luxury private rented homes – some of which are currently on the market for £2,700 per month.
The building, built in 2013, was sold to institutional investor M&G for £125m before being leased back to Genesis Housing Association on a 35-year deal – the biggest build-to-rent investment of its kind at the time.
The building has housed celebrities, including international YouTube star KSI who lived in the penthouse suite of the building in 2014.
It was ranked fifth in The Guardian’s top 10 list of worst London skyscrapers in 2014.
The wider Halo development comprises 706 homes, including properties at social and affordable rent.
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.
