Dangerous cladding: ‘Fire patrols at our flats cost us £500,000’
Ritu Saha Three years after the Grenfell fire , many buildings with dangerous cladding still have 24-hour fire safety patrols – introduced originally as a temporary measure. Now, thousands more homeowners are being forced to pay for “waking watches” with no end in sight. In November 2017, when people […]Click here to view original web…
Cladding scandal latest: homeowners forced to spend millions on 24-hour fire patrols
Thousands of flat owners are being forced to pay hundreds of pounds per month for round-the-clock fire wardens because their buildings are deemed unsafe. Known as ‘waking watches’, these patrols can be forced upon leaseholders who live in buildings with potentially dangerous cladding and other safety defects, with hundreds […] Click here to view original…
Waking watch costs trebled after review by company owned by chair of government panel
December 2020 digital edition of Inside Housing out now Widely used polystyrene insulation system shown to be ‘similar’ to Grenfell-style cladding in Australian fire test Grenfell Tower Inquiry diary week 22: ‘All we do is lie in here’ Kingspan issued legal threat to Twitter critic just hours after Grenfell […] Click here to view original…
Celotex executive wrote ‘WTF?’ on fire test report, Grenfell inquiry hears
An executive at the manufacturer of foam insulation that burned on Grenfell Tower was so shocked that the firm had set up a fire test to play down the material’s potential combustibility that she scrawled “WTF?” in the margin of the test report, an inquiry has heard. Deborah Berger, […] Click here to view original…
Grenfell survivors push for French witnesses to testify with embassy stunt
Survivors of the Grenfell disaster have tried to shame the French government into delivering key witnesses to the public inquiry using a truck-mounted poster outside the country’s embassy in London showing the burnt-out tower at the heart of the tricolour flag. The stunt on Monday came as Grenfell United […] Click here to view original…
Fire marshals patrol Ipswich flats 24/7 amid cladding fears
Cardinal Lofts, in Ipswich where there are concerns about the cladding Picture: Archant Fire marshals are patrolling an Ipswich Waterfront tower block 24 hours a day after inspectors raised fears about fire safety. Sarah Cushion has a buy-let-flat in Cardinal Lofts. Photo: Sarah Cushion – Credit: Archant But the […] Click here to view original…
Winter 2020: Gately Construction Case Update
The latest Construction Case update from Gateley Vinden offers an in-depth look at the issues surrounding cladding remediation, the draft Fire Safety Bill and the draft Building Safety Bill Gateley Vinden takes a look at the government’s response to the Select Committee Report on the progress of cladding remediation […] Click here to view original…
Health board applied to have K15 insulation removed from Queen Elizabeth hospital three years ago
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde tried to have insulation removed from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital three years ago, despite having provided assurances that the material is safe, according to reports. The Kingspan Kooltherm K15 insulation in place at the hospital was used in Grenfell Tower, which caught fire and […] Click here to view original…
Health chiefs tried to remove ‘safe’ Grenfell insulation from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital three years ago
Health chiefs tried to remove Grenfell insulation from Scots superhospital three years ago – despite insisting it was safe THE health board which claimed that inflammable insulation material used in Grenfell Tower which remains in place at Scotland’s super-hospital was safe – applied to have it removed nearly three […] Click here to view original…
Scots ministers urged to help fund victims of cladding scandal
Sales of modern flats in high-rise buildings have slowed since stringent checks on cladding materials were introduced after the Grenfell fire in London in 2017 Ministers are being urged to help thousands of homeowners in Scotland stranded in “worthless” properties amid cladding fears in the wake of the Grenfell […] Click here to view original…
Property developers warned to act on cladding issues before time runs out
Expert property lawyers are advising developers to act on cladding issues now to avoid the risk of paying out millions of pounds. Dangerous, combustible cladding has been top of the agenda for developers since the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people. The use of […] Click here to view original…
Residents demand answers after Sheffield flats fail fire safety checks 13 years after they were built
The tenants and homeowners were evacuated from the Wicker Riverside building on Friday, December 11 by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, after an inspection found the building didn’t have enough fire alarms or adequate smoke ventilation. Thirty five of the 132 flats were evacuated – all from floors […] Click here to view original…