Tower recladding work to leave residents in the cold

Hundreds of residents in London homes close to Grenfell Tower are facing a cold Christmas after council chiefs told them the cladding on two tower blocks was a “substantial” fire hazard and must be removed without delay.

Residents of Adair and Hazelwood Towers received letters from Kensington and Chelsea council on Thursday informing them that work to replace the insulation render on the outside of their blocks would start next week. Updated government advice on external cladding to tower blocks was issued last month.

The insulation materials on those blocks are not the same as those used on Grenfell Tower. But the materials known as EPS (expanded polystyrene system) have now also been deemed a fire risk.

The cladding on the blocks was installed in 1992 and 1993. The two 14-storey blocks were built in 1958 and contain 156 one- and two-bedroom flats. The removal of the cladding is so urgent that the council has waived tendering requirements and awarded a contract worth more than £500,000 to D&B Facades UK.

Residents said they were angry that the work, which is expected to take five to six months, would be carried out during the coldest months of the year in blocks they said were already cold. Council officials have said they are discussing measures to ameliorate the cold but have not detailed any plans.

Darren Turner, a resident, said: “Living in buildings with no insulation for several months is going to be really intense and will affect a lot of people.” Concern about the fire risk is so great that council officials have moved 24-hour fire wardens into the blocks at a cost of £26,000 a week until the cladding materials have been removed.

A spokesman for the council said it had started looking at fire safety issues after it took back responsibility for council housing in the borough from a tenants’ management organisation.

Since the Grenfell Tower disaster there have been two fires in flats in Hazelwood. Both have been contained within the flats where they started.

A fire risk assessment of the blocks was undertaken in July 2018 by independent specialists. While the rendered insulating system complied with regulations at the time of installation, concerns had been raised about its safety. Work on apparently defective doors and windows would take place at the same time as the recladding.

“Residents will not be moved out while the work is done,” a council spokesman said. “Dirt and disruption will be kept to a minimum and we are setting up a working group to keep all informed as the work progresses. We will discuss with residents what additional assistance we can provide in relation to cold.” He said Kensington and Chelsea was not the only borough considering removing that particular insulation system from its tall blocks.