Race to make high-rises and hotels safe across Britain
THOUSANDS of hotels and public buildings are being urgently checked for flammable cladding and insulation.
A cross-government taskforce has been launched to inspect public properties the wake of the Grenfell Tower inferno.
English councils have started ripping down flammable cladding in 14 buildings in nine areas.
It came as Camden council in London last night evacuated 800 households from five tower blocks which had similar cladding to the Grenfell tower. Residents are being moved to temporary accommodation.
Meanwhile, major hotel chains including Hilton, Ramada, Best Western and Travelodge were last night carrying out checks of their properties.
Premier Inn said it had ‘concerns’ that cladding used on some of its buildings may not meet safety regulations.
The hotel chain said three of its properties – in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and Brentford and Tottenham in London – have been investigated during a ‘detailed assessment’ of its estate, although the material was less flammable than that used to clad the Grenfell Tower.
Cladding is to be pulled down from nine tower blocks in Pendleton, Greater Manchester, after they were discovered to contain aluminium composite material similar to that used in Grenfell.
Two high-rise buildings in Portsmouth – Horatia House and Leamington House – will also be stripped as a precaution after tests revealed a fire risk, the city’s council said. And the cladding at a tower in Clements Court, Hounslow, West London, failed the fire-safety test and will be removed ‘as soon as possible’, the council said.
Flammable cladding was also found in blocks in Plymouth, Devon, and in Tottenham, Islington and Newham in London. A Government spokesman said: ‘We are contacting building owners to ensure any risk is considered appropriately, managed and dealt with promptly where needed. Some of this work is already under way.’
Wyndham Hotel Group said: ‘We have commenced an urgent assessment of the cladding utilised on all Ramada, Ramada Encore and Days Inn hotels throughout the UK.’ Hilton, Radisson Blu, Travelodge and Premier Inn all said they were conducting reviews of their hotels.
A letter has been sent to NHS trusts urging them to check buildings for combustible cladding, the Health Service Journal reported last night.