News Grenfell: Professionals and contractors accused of ‘wilful non-compliance’ The barrister acting for victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster has accused contractors and professionals in charge of the building of “wilful non-compliance”.
News Grenfell Inquiry theatre production will ‘call failings to account’ Key moments from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry are to be dramatised in a run of verbatim theatre performances later this year.
News Grenfell: Government had ‘false understanding’ that fire safety regime was working The government had a ‘false understanding’ that the fire safety regime was working as it should in advance of the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster.
News Grenfell: BBA issued 2008 Kingspan K15 certificate based on ‘extrapolated’ data A 2008 certificate issued by the British Board of Agrément (BBA) for Kingspan K15 insulation was based on data “extrapolated” from fire test reports on similar Kingspan phenolic products, some of which were 15 years old, in a “basic failure of due diligence” the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard.
News Grenfell: BRE manager disputes claims he knew about ‘manipulated’ Celotex test The former BRE manager who oversaw the 2014 fire tests of Celotex’s RS 5000 insulation within a cladding system has denied he knew the rig was “manipulated” to achieve a pass after it failed its first test.
Opinion Construction needs to rally round and fix its failings Paul Morrell explains to CM why, amid the uncomfortable revelations coming out of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the construction industry needs to rally to fix problems wherever they are discovered.
News Grenfell: Rydon director had ‘private’ access to top TMO decision-makers Rydon’s refurbishment director Stephen Blake had “personal and private” access to the top decision-makers at the Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) in charge of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment…
News Grenfell: No evidence of Rydon response to ‘Lakanal’ fears email There is no evidence that Rydon employees working on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment responded to an email seeking clarification on cladding fire safety.
News Grenfell: ‘Aspirational’ U-value led to combustible insulation An “aspirational” target to keep heat loss from Grenfell Tower to a minimum resulted in the selection of the combustible Celotex RS5000 insulation for the building, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry…
News Grenfell: Celotex accepts marketing literature was ‘misleading’ The former head of marketing at Celotex has accepted that the literature produced to market the combustible RS5000 insulation used in Grenfell Tower was “misleading” but denied that it was deliberately so.
News Grenfell: Marketing of Celotex insulation ‘thoroughly misleading’ Claims made in marketing materials for Celotex RS5000 insulation of the type used in Grenfell Tower that it was suitable for buildings above 18m in height were “thoroughly misleading”, the…
News Grenfell: Manufacturers ‘exploited ignorance for commercial gain’ The manufacturers of the combustible cladding and insulation used on Grenfell Tower “exploited ignorance” around terms such as “class 0” and “limited combustibility” within the construction industry for their own commercial gain, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard.
News Grenfell: Client rejected design adviser role despite VE changes The client for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment opted not to spend £30,000 on design advice even though the project was likely to undergo significant value engineering work.
News Grenfell: Former RBKC building control manager denies ‘culture of bullying’ The former building control manager at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s (RBKC) building control office has denied that a “culture of bullying” existed within the department around the…
News Grenfell was building control officer’s first high-rise recladding The local authority building control officer responsible for inspecting the Grenfell Tower refurbishment had no previous experience of an overcladding project on an occupied high-rise residential building, it emerged yesterday.…
News Grenfell: Building industry ‘moved more quickly than fire service’ The construction industry developed modern methods of construction more quickly than the London fire service’s ability to understand them in terms of fire spread.
News Grenfell inquiry dramatisation pulls no punches The theatre production about the Grenfell Tower Inquiry puts the built environment sector and all its murkiest machinations in the spotlight.
News Grenfell: Former BRE boss quizzed over ‘confusing’ product certification guidelines Former BRE director Debbie Smith appeared before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry yesterday (23 February) to face questions over the testing regime that governed construction products prior to the Grenfell Tower fire.