Building safety

A litany of failures by Rydon, the principal contractor on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, means it bears “considerable responsibility” for the fatal 2017 blaze, according to the phase two inquiry report. The report, released today (4 September), criticised numerous failings by the company, saying these had significantly contributed to the…

Cladding subcontractor Harley Facades “failed in many respects to meet the standards expected of a reasonably competent cladding contractor”, the Grenfell Inquiry phase 2 report said today. Harley did not have a formal contract to work on the refurbishment of the tower, so its exact legal responsibilities are murky. However,…

Manufacturer Kingspan’s dishonest marketing created a “spurious” market for polymer-based insulation for use on high-rise buildings, according to the Grenfell Inquiry phase 2 report. Some of the harshest words in the report were aimed at the cladding manufacturer Arconic and insulation suppliers Kingspan, Celotex,whose products were used in the refurbishment…

Simon Shaw is a senior associate at Mayer Brown  On 17 May 2018, Dame Judith Hackitt declared that the Building Regulations regime in the UK was “not fit for purpose”. Following this, there have been a number of cases and legislative changes relating to fire-safety matters for the industry to…

The government has indefinitely extended CE marking, removed National Classes fire testing and mandated sprinklers in care homes in a surprise announcement this afternoon. In a ministerial statement, building-safety minister Rushanara Ali said UK recognition of CE marking – an EU product regulation – will no longer end in June…

Cladding manufacturer Kingspan has settled a court case that would have tested a new law extending the range of legal claims that contractors can make against cladding manufacturers, Construction News can reveal. Kingspan was among 11 companies facing claims totalling £70m from Shepherd Construction in a dispute relating to a…

Monday’s fire at a residential block in Dagenham may have started from flammable building materials stored on scaffolding, the Institution of Fire Engineers (IfE) has suggested. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) yesterday announced it had started investigating whether cladding-remediation works were a factor in  the Spectrum Building blaze. And…

Scaffolding used by contractors undertaking remedial work could have played a part in spreading fire at a residential block in Dagenham yesterday, according to a fire expert. Fire broke out at the Spectrum building early on Monday morning (26 August), causing a blaze that took more than 200 firefighters to…

The London Fire Brigade has announced an investigation into the Bank Holiday weekend blaze at the Spectrum Building in Chadwell Heath, east London. Construction News has pieced together a history of the building from planning documents. Circa 1973: The part-five-part-six-storey office building is built on a 3,106 square metre site…

Residents have accused a Scottish council of “betrayal” after it voted to demolish and rebuild around 500 homes made with crumble-risk concrete. Yesterday (21 August), Aberdeen City Council approved a proposed multi-year redevelopment of 366 council and 138 private homes in Torry, a burgh of Aberdeen, which it expects will…