The cladding used for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in west London was changed to a cheaper version, according to reports over the weekend.
The fireproof cladding planned for Grenfell Tower was downgraded to save £293,000 as housing officials demanded “good costs” to satisfy a council boss, leaked emails revealed.
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The document was sent to contractors as part of an overall drive to reduce the cost of the refurbishment from £9.2m to £8.5m.
According to The Times, officials at Kensington and Chelsea Tenants management Organisation, who were in charge of the tower, also sent an email to project management consultant Artelia urging “good costs” for the council.
At least 80 people are thought to have died in the fire at the west London block and it’s feared the full death toll won’t be known for months.
Meanwhile, cladding on 181 blocks in 51 areas has now failed fire safety tests. This represents 100% of all panels tested as part of the national safety operation to identify buildings with cladding similar to Grenfell tower.
Salford has the highest number of failed cladding with 29 towers found so far with the at-risk aluminium composite material.
Elsewhere last Friday the the chief executive of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), together with chief executives of Build UK and the Construction Products Association, met with the permanent secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government, plus officials from the Cabinet Office, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Homes and Communities Agency and the Local Government Association, to agree the establishment of a joint industry task force.
The task force will enable the sector to respond rapidly to the demand for construction products and services that will be needed to replace or install cladding and other fire safety equipment in the aftermath of Grenfell.
The industry is already drawing up plans for the remit, structure and membership of the task force.
