Life of luxury ..as we live ours in fear
Grenfell Tower
SASKIA ROWLANDS
THOUSANDS of people remain trapped in fire-risk flats while a trio of millionaire developers live the life of Riley.
They run firms named and shamed for failing to agree to carry out precautionary works to prevent another possible Grenfell.
Our probe into their luxury lifestyles comes ahead of next week’s sixth anniversary of the inferno which killed 72 in West London.
Developers Dandara and Abbey New Homes – who were not directly involved in the Grenfell disaster – and Rydon declined to sign a government pledge last month to strip over 1,000 high-rises of flammable materials. Meanwhile, their fat cat bosses enjoy exotic holidays and dine at Michelin-starred restaurants.
Cladding
Trevor Dempsey, 44, pocketed £440,877 as head of Dandara last year, according to accounts.
The magnate stayed at Dubai’s five-star Atlantis in April, where one night is between £1,500 and £3,800.
A holiday snap on his partner’s Facebook shows him glugging wine on a roof terrace and eating posh grub at upmarket Nobu.
The pair later went kayaking with dolphins and sunned themselves next to an infinity pool.
Last night Grenfell survivor Emma O’connor, 34, who lived on the 20th floor, said: “This makes me so angry. There will be another Grenfell, and it will be the Government’s fault for failing to clamp down on these CEOS.
Failure to sign the contract should be a criminal offence.”
Lucie Gutfreund, of campaign group End
Our Cladding Scandal, added: “Thousands of people are putting their children to bed at night fearing for their safety because developers have failed to fix their buildings.”
Some 641,000 people live in properties at risk of fire, according to official data. Another culprit is Rydon Homes – which helped renovate Grenfell Tower in 2015.
It was struck off the Help To Buy scheme for refusing to commit a penny to safety-proof homes.
Yet boss Warwick Barnes – who raked in £481,000 last year – likes to regularly get away from it all. He’s seen living it up on Caribbean island Antigua – posing on white sandy beaches and hiring golf buggies.
Snaps on Facebook show the 55-year-old dad of two chartering a vintage plane and driving a racing car. He’s also the proud owner of a retreat in East Sussex worth just shy of £1million. Chairman of Abbey New Homes, Charles Gallagher, is also living the good life. He sits on a £776m fortune and is 241st on the Sunday Times UK
Rich List. The Irish tycoon even stood as a Tory candidate in the 1987 General
Election. His firm, which turned over £175m in
2022, was recently described as having “one of the strongest balance sheets of any British or Irish housebuilder”. The family also own £79m firm Matthew Homes.
Pressure group Grenfell United said: “It’s one rule for them and another for us. The difference between our six years of suffering and their carefree, lavish lifestyles is ANGRY Survivor Emma O’connor the perfect example of a broken justice system.
“Grenfell might feel like decades ago, but it’s exactly 72 months since 72 individuals lost their lives, 18 of which were children.”
Rydon, Dandara and Abbey were approached for comment.
Forty seven other housebuilders have now signed the contract. In March, Rydon claimed it should not have to as it was too small and the measure was aimed at larger firms.