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London council warns ‘all options’ remain open to recoup costs on defect-ridden block as repairs start

A London council has started work to fix multiple fire safety defects on an award-winning block nearly three years after issues were found, but has not ruled out legal action against the original builder.

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Bridport House in Hackney, London, is made from cross-laminated timber (picture: Google Street View)
Bridport House in Hackney, London, is made from cross-laminated timber (picture: Google Street View)
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Hackney Council said it would continue “to look at all options” to try and recoup the costs it has shelled out to try and fix Bridport House #UKhousing

Hackney Council said it would continue “to look at all options” to try and recoup the costs it has shelled out to fix Bridport House, which was originally built by Willmott Partnership Homes, a former subsidiary of national contractor Willmott Dixon. 

The council has now lined up Essex-based Hutton Construction for the remediation of the block, with preparation works having started ahead of full works to begin next month. 

The eight-storey building, which is made from cross-laminated timber, won a number of awards after it was completed in 2011. However in April 2019, the council discovered an array of problems, including “potentially combustible” insulation, missing fire barriers, flawed brickwork, balconies and windows.

It led to Hackney Council changing the ‘stay put’ advice for the block to ‘evacuate’ in the event of a fire.

The local authority was also forced to issue a warning to tenants after a piece of balcony reportedly fell off from the second floor

In early 2019, the council said it was considering demolishing Bridport House, but decided on repair work instead. Since then, the council installed a fire alarm system in late 2019 and did some initial fire safety work, including "extensive fire stopping in communal areas, repairs to communal fire doors, replacement of missing fire seals and self-closers on front entrance doors, new fire signage and fire action notices and replacement locks on intake cupboards".  


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Inside Housing understands that the delay over appointing a new contractor is due to the length of time it has taken to rehouse some of Bridport House’s residents. 

Residents on the upper floor of the building have been rehoused either temporarily or permanently, while some ground-floor tenants will remain while the remediation work takes place, it is understood. 

In August 2019, Hackney Council said it was considering legal action against Willmott Partnerships Homes, the contractor that built the flats. 

A year ago it emerged that the £200m-turnover firm, which was latterly known as WPHV, had been placed into administration by its parent company.

Clayeon McKenzie, cabinet member for housing services Hackney Council, said: “We have been committed throughout that this should not be delayed by discussions about the cause of these defects when Bridport House was built, but we are of course clear that the high cost of remediation resulting from the original construction of the building is not borne by the council.

"We will continue to look at all options to ensure this.”

Inside Housing understands that the council has not ruled out legal action.

A spokesperson for Willmott Dixon told Inside Housing: "Discussions are ongoing at the present time".

The remediation work will include replacing the existing cavity wall insulation with a non-combustible material and installing new cavity barriers. New brickwork and balconies will be reinstalled and repairs to the roof parapets and parts of the timber frame will also be carried out. The building’s brick facades will also be dismantled. 

The council said previously it expected the remediation project to take three years and cost £6m, plus a £2.5m rehousing bill. However, the work is now expected to take around 15 months. 

Meanwhile, the original designer of the building’s timber frame, Eurban, was awarded a £50,000 contract by the council last September.

It is understood that Eurban will be advising on the engineering design, instead of working on the building directly.

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