After Grenfell: every cladding sample tested so far has failed
THIRTY-FOUR high-rise buildings in 17 local authorities across England have failed fire cladding safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Department for Communities and Local Government has announced.
Communities secretary Sajid Javid last night confirmed that all samples tested so far have failed.
The revelation comes as more than 3,000 residents of the Chalcots Estate in Camden, north London, face weeks in temporary accommodation after four tower blocks were evacuated. Portsmouth and Brent, along with Camden, Manchester, Plymouth and Hounslow, were named by the UK Government yesterday as having buildings that had failed tests amid a nationwide safety operation launched after at least 79 people died when fire ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington on June 14.
Camden Council leader Georgia Gould said around 600 flats have been evacuated due to concerns over “combustible” external cladding, insulation, gas pipes and fire doors. But 83 households had refused to leave by Saturday morning. Gould said it would “become a matter for the fire service” if residents stayed in their homes after being spoken to again by officials.
“Obviously last night was distressing, knocking on people’s doors and telling them they had to leave,” she said. “Emotions were really high and some people, even with all the fire advice, decided to stay.”
Gould said it could take between two and four weeks to make safe the four buildings – Taplow, Burnham, Bray and Dorney – while residents of a fifth tower block, Blashford, were told they could return to their homes. Work had been due to begin on stripping cladding from buildings on the Chalcots Estate, but Camden Council ordered the “decant” of residents on Friday evening following further checks by the London Fire Brigade.
People were told to leave as darkness began to fall, with some taking belongings in suitcases and carrier bags, and a number of locals saying they only learned of the evacuation as they watched the news.
Gould said the council is looking at accommodation including student halls and opening up newly-built social housing, with hopes that by Monday, 50 per cent of tenants will be accommodated in the borough.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have said that a civil emergency needs to be declared to deal with tower-block evacuations. The party has also called on the Government to establish a fund to compensate those forced to leave their homes due to fire safety fears.
LibDem president Baroness Brinton, who is on the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group, said: “This is a civil emergency. The government must guarantee funding for local councils to keep people safe and compensate those who have had their lives disrupted. Those affected need to be treated fairly and with dignity.
“The government should provide funding to ensure people evacuated from their homes don’t have to pay a penny of council tax until they’ve returned.”