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G15 landlord hands out £120m contract for seven-year fire remediation programme
Engie has signed a £120m contract with Optivo to carry out fire remediation work as part of a programme that will take seven years to deliver.
Starting this month, Engie will embark on several months of “extensive investigation and design work” across various Optivo buildings.
The programme will then be delivered over seven years, with work on site due to begin this summer.
Optivo has already been surveying and investigating the materials and workmanship of external wall systems on the buildings it owns to assess whether their blocks meet safety standards in accordance with government advice.
Work being carried out by Engie will include the removal and replacement of combustible materials to external wall systems, including cavity barriers, as well as the removal and replacement of any non-compliant spandrel panels and balconies.
Housing associations across the UK are currently going through the process of inspecting and remediating their buildings after the Grenfell Tower fire exposed a massive building safety crisis in the UK.
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The G15 group, which is comprised of London’s largest housing associations, predicted its members will spend £2.9bn over the net decade on fire remediation work.
Engie has said that energy efficiency will play “an integral part” in the planning and design of the work it is carrying out for Optivo.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has previously urged social landlords to do what they can to maximise the energy efficiency of homes while carrying out building safety work.
Engie has said it will embark on a recruitment drive to provide jobs for local people and supplied during the seven-year programme.
Dan Germann, regional managing director of the places and communities South division at Engie, said: “Optivo has a very clear directive and the significance of this work isn’t lost on anybody.
“We have the experience, technology, skills and systems in place to work within the golden thread framework – which was a requisite of the delivery – but we are also perfectly placed to bring net zero solutions to the table, ensuring these homes are not only safe but efficient.”
Heather Langridge, director of asset compliance at Optivo, said: “We want to make sure our residents are safe in the building they live in. It’s why we’re continuing to do everything we can to comply with all the government guidance and regulations to ensure all our buildings meet the required standards. We welcome this partnership which means we can now start to deliver these vital fire remediation works.”
Update: at 7.55pm, 01.04.21 The original version of this article said the G15 predicts its members will spend £1.9m over the next decade on fire remediation work. It has now been updated to show the number is £2.9bn.
