Did contractors cut corners and pocket the difference?
MILLIONAIRE contractors were last night facing claims that they pocketed taxpayers’ cash to install fireproof cladding – only to fit cut-price flammable panels instead.
One local authority said it was considering legal action over the panels installed on several of its high-rise tower blocks, claiming they were not the safe ones it had paid for.
Camden council, in north London, made the allegations against contractor Rydon, which charged £66million to re-fit five of its highrise blocks at the Chalcots Estate. Rydon was the company behind the controversial refurbishment of the doomed Grenfell Tower in North Kensington.
Harley Facades Ltd, which supplied the cladding panels, was also involved in both jobs.
Yesterday council leader Georgia Gould said they were taking ‘urgent legal advice’ after discovering the panels ‘were not to the standard’ that was commissioned.
As workmen there began tearing down the panels yesterday, the Daily Mail asked both contractors if they had taken taxpayers’ money to fit safe cladding but instead installed cheap flammable versions.
Harley Facades replied ‘no comment’ and referred all questions to Rydon, and Rydon did not respond except to refer inquiries to Harley.
Rydon’s boss Robert Bond, a supercar fan whose Aston Martin features a personalised ‘Bond’ number plate, has been in hiding since the Grenfell Tower inferno.
Harley Facades is run by husband and wife Raymond and Belinda Bailey, who live in a grand £1million home in Crowborough, East Sus- sex. Last night residents spoke of their disgust. Ron Austin, 59, who has lived on the estate for 18 years, said: ‘I’ve been living in a potential firebomb for the past few years.’
Chalcots resident Julia Mummolo, 24, said: ‘I have been unable to sleep since the fire at Grenfell ... I can’t stay here. I live on the 16th floor. I don’t know how I would be able to get out if there were a fire.’
However, Rona Stanway attacked the council, saying: ‘Camden council won’t even admit they’ve done anything wrong, they’re just saying they’ve been diddled ... Why didn’t they check what they’d done?’
Murder squad detectives are now leading a 250-strong team of police, fire and health and safety investigators to probe whether any crimes have been committed, and the CPS is advising on potential charges.
A Mail investigation showed that in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, which cost £8.6million, contractors saved just £6,250 by using flammable cladding instead of a ‘fire retardant’ version.
Yesterday Camden council’s leader stressed the cladding used on the Chalcots Estate blocks ‘differs significantly’ from the material used on Grenfell. But Miss Gould, 31, added there would be roundthe-clock fire patrols while all the cladding was removed.
The Mail established that Reynobond PE cladding was used on both Grenfell and the Camden blocks of flats – which the Government has said is illegal, although experts have challenged this.
Even Reynobond’s manufacturer, Arconic, warns it is ‘crucial’ that Reynobond PE should not be fitted on tall buildings above ten metres (32ft), which is about the first four storeys, ‘to avoid fire spreading extremely rapidly’. Yet despite warnings, 67-metre (220ft) Grenfell Tower was swathed in Reynobond PE – and so were five Camden tower blocks.
Camden Council told that Mail that although its cladding was made of Reynobond, it ‘differed’ from Grenfell because it was paired with a type of insulation that does not burn.
Although not commenting yesterday, Harley Facades issued a statement last week saying it ‘will fully support and co-operate with the investigations into this fire’.
Harley added that it was ‘not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding’.
Rydon’s statement from Mr Bond last week said: ‘Rydon Maintenance Limited completed a partial refurbishment of [Grenfell Tower] in the summer of 2016 which met all required building regulations.’