Grenfell Tower The Aftermath Thread SIX.

[HelenaDove]

I thought i would take the oppurtunity to start thread six as thread five is now coming to an end. to all those lost in the fire their survivors families friends and volunteers.

Link to thread five which also includes links to previous threads.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/in_the_news/2959251-London-Fire-Grenfell-Tower-thread-five?pg=1

www.echo-news.co.uk/news/17435786.housing-bosses-pledge-fire-safety-overhaul-for-southend-tower-blocks/

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/wood-cladding-linked-to-barking-fire-identified-on-multiple-housing-association-developments-62001

Wood cladding linked to Barking fire identified on multiple housing association developments
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24/06/197:00 AM
by Luke Barratt

Housing associations are urgently investigating developments using the same material found covering the Barking block partly destroyed by a fire two weeks ago, as an Inside Housing investigation has discovered 20 developments using the product

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Housing associations are taking urgent action to investigate developments using the same material covering a Barking block partly destroyed by fire #ukhousing
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Inside Housing analysis has discovered 20 blocks clad in the same material as a Barking building partly destroyed by fire, seven of which are high rises #ukhousing

Clarion, L&Q and Peabody have all said they are carrying out work to deal with potential issues arising from ThermoWood, the wooden material used on the balconies and cladding at Samuel Garside House, the site of a fire earlier this month.

The fire damaged 47 flats, including eight that will take six months to make habitable again, with residents forced to flee for their lives

Inside Housing revealed shortly afterwards that the cladding used was ThermoWood, a Class D-rated material.

Following a ban on combustibles on high rises brought in last November, official government guidance does not permit the material to be used on new build blocks over 18m.

It would still have been banned on high rises under previous guidance, unless it was proved safe by evidence from a large scale test or used on balconies.

However, it was and is permitted on buildings below 18m. Samuel Garside House is understood to be under 18m
Inside Housing has used planning documents and developers’ marketing material to build a list of 20 more schemes – mostly in London – using ThermoWood as either cladding or decking for balconies.

This includes a six-storey development in Lewisham which is owned by Clarion and is clad with ThermoWood. Responding to Inside Housing, a spokesperson for the organisation said: “Our residents’ safety is paramount.

“We are working alongside our partners to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency and will carry out any improvement works that are required.”

Seven of the 20 developments identified include at least one high-rise building, of six storeys or more, within the scheme.

One of these was Titanic Quarter in Belfast, a massive development including 474 apartments, with balconies clad in ThermoWood.

A spokesperson for Titanic Quarter said: “Our development - the ARC, Titanic Quarter - has been constructed in compliance with building control and fire safety regulations and received Full Building Control certification. We are aware of the recent fire in Barking and are closely monitoring the outcome of the investigation

Meanwhile, L&Q’s flagship Quebec Quarter development in Canada Water, which includes blocks of up to six storeys but all under 18m, has also been revealed to have ThermoWood present.

An L&Q spokesperson said: “L&Q is compiling a list of blocks which have extensive timber cladding, including but not limited to ThermoWood.” They added that they were undertaking this work in preparation of the latest fire safety advice from experts and said all of its buildings had up to date fire risk assessments.

A source close to Peabody, which owns a 10-storey block in Bow called Merchants Walk with ThermoWood panels, said the association is looking at the whole estate to evaluate the risks.

A spokesperson said the association was reviewing all of its blocks and making improvements where needed, and had acted on a number of blocks. They added: "We continue to replace materials we consider to be higher risk."

The builder Countryside, meanwhile, declined to comment on its Silver Point scheme in Enfield, which at one point is eight storeys high and uses ThermoWood cladding

Inside Housing also identified 13 mid-rise blocks of between three and five storeys using ThermoWood as either cladding or balconies.

It is possible to treat ThermoWood to give it a higher fire rating of Class B. This would mean current building regulations would still forbid it from being used on new high-rise buildings.

However guidance before regulations were changed by the government last November would have permitted it. It is still permitted on buildings built before that period.

None of the organisations contacted by Inside Housing was able to confirm whether or not the ThermoWood used on its scheme had been treated in this way.

Inside Housing has identified the key organisations involved in developing and managing Samuel Garside House:

Developer: Bellway

Architect: Sheppard Robson

Building owner (headlease): Adriatic Land

Freeholder of land: Greater London Authority/L&Q

Management: HomeGround, which appointed RMG (part of Places for People)

Building control: NHBC

Owner of affordable homes (32 of 80): Southern Housing Group

bylinetimes.com/2019/06/14/grenfell-two-years-on-little-has-changed-for-social-housing-tenants/

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GRENFELL
TWO YEARS ON
Little Has Changed for Social Housing Tenants
Natalie Bloomer and Samir Jeraj
14 June 2019
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Natalie Bloomer and Samir Jeraj report on how the tragedy at Grenfell Tower still hasn’t led to change for others living in poor conditions.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, there was lots of talk about giving a voice to social housing tenants and the need to take their concerns more seriously.

Two years on, how much has really changed?

Michelle Fox and her four children moved into their housing association home in 2015. It quickly became apparent that the property had a serious problem with damp.

“Most rooms were damp,” she says. “But there was also groundwater coming up through the concrete floor.”

She made a number of complaints to the housing association but she says that, rather than taking action, they told her they would monitor the problem for two years.

We have to change the culture in social housing so people are treated with respect.
Karim Mussilhy, vice-chair, Grenfell United

“There were puddles on the carpet,” she says. “We lost two sofas and my feet were always wet.”

Eventually, three years after her first complaint, the housing association moved the family into temporary accommodation while they repaired the floor.

Things didn’t get any better.

The new house also had problems with mould and damp and Michelle says that old windows let the cold in.

“The cold was brutal,” she says. “And there was no oven, so we lived off junk food for months.”

Even once back in their home, Michelle says there continued to be issues with the floor. As a last resort, she put in for an exchange and moved out of the property last month.

“Nothing has changed [since Grenfell],” Michelle says.

“They’re dealing with society’s most vulnerable people, but there’s a ‘put up and shut up’ attitude.”

Emma (not her real name) and her teenage daughter, spent two years living in temporary accommodation on the Aylesbury Estate in London while they waited for social housing.

In February, during freezing conditions, a burst pipe meant that tenants on the estate were left without heating and hot water for eight days. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. We spoke to Emma at the time.

“We continuously have heating and hot water shut downs,” she said. “I can wake up one morning and go to have a wash and there’s no hot water. This is how we’ve lived for the past two years.”

During the shut downs, the council provided tenants with electric heaters but Emma said she was concerned with the cost of using them.

“I’m having to use hot water bottles, extra clothing, fan heaters and I’ve also brought a mattress into the living room so we can stay in one room. I can’t afford to have these heaters running all over the house.”
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Another resident on the estate told us there were holes in one of her bedroom walls which let rain water into the flat. It was so bad that they had to stop using the room and, instead, she and her three children all had to sleep in the same bedroom.

Both she and Emma said they made repeated complaints to the council over the two years they were living on the estate.

“I’m trying to deal with all this the best I know how, while still trying to remain an example for my daughter,” Emma said.

“I’m trying to teach her that you go to work so you can have nice things, but living in the conditions we are living in, I don’t know if I’m doing a good job of that anymore.”

In recent months, both families were moved into permanent homes. But, social housing tenants across the country face similar problems.

New research from the housing charity Shelter shows that 56% of social renters in England have experienced a problem with their home in the past three years.

The issues included gas leaks, faulty lifts and electrical hazards. One in 10 of those people had to report the problem more than 10 times.

The survey also found that half of all people asked had less trust in the Government to keep social tenants safe in their homes since Grenfell, and another third believed the Government’s response to the tragedy had made no difference.

Christopher Mosley is Chair of the Homes in Sedgemoor arms-length management organisation in Somerset. He’s been a council house tenant for the last 40 years. He says things have got a lot worse for social housing tenants in recent years.

“There’s bad housing, a lot more poverty and people just being ignored,” he says. “When the terrible fire happened at Grenfell it brought attention to social housing but it hasn’t lasted. People think it’s yesterday’s news.”

Christopher is also part of the group Benefit to Society, which campaigns to end the stigma of social tenants. This month he and others will be visiting Parliament to raise the issues faced by those living in council or housing association homes.

They’re dealing with society’s most vulnerable people, but there’s a ‘put up and shut up’ attitude.
Michelle

“We’ll be telling them that programmes like ‘Benefits Street’ should never be aired again and that press and politicians should end the stigma associated with council housing,” he says.

They will also be travelling around the country to speak to other tenants groups.

“We’ll be going all over and, after each meeting, we’ll be putting on an afternoon for residents so we can talk to them about the issues they face. This is about us coming together and raising our voices.”

The London residents and campaigners group Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) say that its members continue to face overcrowding, poor responses to repair issues and long council waiting lists.

“HASL members have always understood the importance of good, secure council housing,” spokesperson for the group, Elizabeth Wyatt, says. “While there were some claims that attitudes towards council tenants softened after Grenfell, national and local politicians’ contempt for social housing is clear.”

This week, the Grenfell survivors group, Grenfell United, projected messages onto tower blocks which they believe are still unsafe.

One read: “Two years after Grenfell and the fire doors in this building still aren’t fit for purpose.”

Another said: “Two years after Grenfell this building still has no sprinklers.”

Vice-chair of Grenfell United Karim Mussilhy, who lost his uncle in the fire, said he had visited residents in Newcastle and heard how their concerns were being ignored.

“That’s what happened to residents in Grenfell before the fire.

“We have to change the culture in social housing so people are treated with respect. Two years after Grenfell, we are coming together and our voices can only get louder.

parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/0c4a7810-eae7-4535-8a63-8bd7f56b67a5

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/17/delays-to-safety-reforms-risk-a-repeat-of-grenfell-disaster?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Delays to safety reforms ‘risk a repeat of Grenfell disaster’

MPs say ministers must work faster as hundreds of towers still have dangerous cladding

Ministers are risking people’s lives because safety reforms after the Grenfell Tower disaster have been too slow and “simply not good enough”, a cross-party group of MPs has warned.

More than two years since the fire claimed the lives of 72 people, the government is taking too long to remove potentially dangerous cladding from hundreds of other housing blocks and, despite promising in July 2017 to “urgently assess” building regulations, it has taken 23 months to merely publish proposals for consultation, a damning parliamentary inquiry concludes.

“The government must pick up the pace of reform, before it is too late and we have another tragedy on the scale of Grenfell Tower,” the Commons housing, communities and local government committee said on Wednesday.

The government’s own figures revealed that in May there were still 328 high-rise residential and publicly owned buildings in England fitted with cladding similar to that which burned with such ferocity at Grenfell. But the pace of repairs has been so slow that only one was fixed last month, leaving tens of thousands of people living in blocks wrapped in materials that the government says breach building safety rules.

Ministers have made £600m available for the removal of the specific type of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding used on Grenfell but not other panels used on hundreds of other buildings that are believed to be equally combustible.

New building regulations remain several months away at least, and the conclusions of the first phase of the delayed public inquiry into how the fire spread are not expected before October.

“The government cannot morally justify funding the replacement of one form of dangerous cladding but not others,” said Clive Betts, the committee chairman. “Much more progress should also have been made on developing a comprehensive building and fire safety framework.”

*Fears of another disaster grew last month when the wooden cladding and balconies on an apartment block in Barking went up in flames. No one was hurt but building safety experts said that people would have died if the fire had happened at night, as at Grenfell. The material was allowed under current building regulations. Residents of the affected building, Samuel Garside House, were relocated to hotels but have been told they should move back in on Monday.

They will protest against the decision outside Barking town hall on Thursday, saying they fear the buildings are not safe*

The committee cited evidence from the Royal Institute of British Architects that apart from a ban on combustible cladding on high-rise buildings, building regulations remained largely unchanged and “we are potentially still constructing unsafe buildings”.

Grenfell survivors who were moved into a newly built block in Earl’s Court have suffered problems. In one case, the mother of a young child who escaped the burning tower had to endure the heavy ceiling of her new balcony collapsing in a way that could have caused serious injury.

The MPs also took evidence from Dame Judith Hackitt, the government’s reviewer of building regulations, who said ministers have lost momentum for reforms. Roy Wilsher, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said the decision to ban only certain types of combustible cladding was “inadequate”. Ed Daffarn, a Grenfell survivor, warned: “Grenfell 2 is in the post unless you act, and quickly”. He said the bereaved and survivors were “sick and tired of being told by ministers: ‘Government is difficult, government takes time.’

The committee’s conclusions were backed by firefighters, who said: “There has been virtually nothing done to prevent another fire like Grenfell from happening.”

Matt Wrack, the leader of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “Time and time again we have raised the issues in this report, but the silence from government is deafening. This is a national emergency which is being met by the government with utter complacency.”

The committee also warned that ministers have unacceptably delayed plans to compel landlords to listen to tenants’ complaints, despite evidence that Grenfell residents’ safety fears were ignored by the council.

Daffarn told the committee: “If you live in social housing and you have a complaint about where you live, whether it is mould, or health and safety, the primary way you get this complaint addressed is by [uploading a photo] to Twitter and hoping you can embarrass your housing provider enough that it does something about it. That is not good enough post-Grenfell.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Public safety is paramount and within days of the Grenfell Tower fire a comprehensive building safety programme was put in place to ensure residents of high-rise properties are always kept safe.

We have committed up to £600m to fund the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on high-rise social and private residential buildings. Ultimately building owners are responsible for the safety of their building and we expect them to carry out work quickly – anything less is unacceptable.

“At the same time, we are supporting the bereaved, survivors and their families of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and have already committed over £100m"

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has urged social housing providers to consider how accountable they are to tenants, as it published its Consumer Regulation Review today.
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Fiona MacGregor, speaking at the Housing 2019 conference in June (picture: Guzelian)
Fiona MacGregor, speaking at the Housing 2019 conference in June (picture: Guzelian)
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Regulator of Social Housing urges providers to address accountability to tenants, as it publishes Consumer Regulation Review #ukhousing #socialhousingfinance

Commenting on the report, which reveals key issues identified by the RSH within its consumer regulation role during 2018/19, chief executive Fiona MacGregor said: “I continue to urge all social housing providers to look at how accountable they are and how they can be more transparent with their tenants.”

The review stated that in some of the cases it investigates, while there has not been a breach of the consumer standards with potential or actual serious detriment, “the way in which registered providers listen to and engage with their tenants can fall short of what could be expected”.

The regulator noted that a “significant part” of its consumer regulator work stems from referrals regarding concerns about the arrangements providers have in place to keep tenants safe in their homes. This, it said, is “ultimately the responsibility of the governing bodies of registered providers – boards and local authority councillors”.

Figures published in the report have shown that the regulator received 502 consumer standard referrals in 2018/19, a slight decline on the 543 received in 2017/18.

Of the 502, 226 (45 per cent) were referred to the Consumer Regulation Panel – a slight increase on the 38 per cent referred to the panel in the previous year – and 124 (25 per cent) were then investigated further. The regulator found a breach and serious detriment in six cases one per cent).

Of the initial referrals received, 47 per cent were from individuals, while 31 per cent were self-referrals from registered providers. Eleven per cent were identified through the regulator’s own engagement with providers. The review also noted a new cohort of referrals for the year, with five per cent of referrals coming from statutory bodies, including local authorities, NHS services and the Housing Ombudsman.

Of all the cases the regulator went on to investigate further, 33 per cent were self-referrals from registered providers, 21 per cent were from tenants or their representatives, and 15 per cent were issues identified through its regulatory engagement.
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Regulator: we have the ‘fundamental objectives needed’ to take on consumer regulator role
Regulator: we have the ‘fundamental objectives needed’ to take on consumer regulator role
Regulator: HAs must do their part to nurture co-regulatory settlement
Regulator: HAs must do their part to nurture co-regulatory settlement

Serious detriment test

Since April 2012, because of changes resulting from the Localism Act 2011, the regulator does not have a mandate to proactively monitor providers’ routine compliance with the consumer standards, and can only use its powers in relation to a provider when it has grounds to suspect there is actual or potential serious detriment to tenants.

The review noted: “Our reactive approach does not lessen the obligation on registered providers to comply and communicate with us in a timely manner in relation to a potential breach.”

This, it says, is a fundamental part of the co-regulatory settlement. “Where we find a breach of a consumer standard and serious detriment, and the registered provider has failed to be transparent with the regulator, we will take that into account as we consider what regulatory action is needed.”

The regulator also reported a correlation in some cases between the timing in which it notifies a provider of its intention to carry out an in-depth assessment (IDA), and the provider’s self-referral of issues to the regulator. This correlation is seen in one in seven of all self-referrals, it says.

Registered providers self-referring are also more likely to do so with regard to a matter relating to the Home Standard (88 per cent), rather than the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard (nine per cent). Meanwhile, referrals from individuals such as tenants are spread more evenly across the standards, the review stated.

Home Standard

The regulator noted that the Home Standard – which covers issues relating to repairs and maintenance, decency of homes, and compliance with statutory health and safety requirements – features in around half of all referrals considered at the second stage of its referral process, the Consumer Regulation Panel.

This year, all the cases where the regulator went on to find a breach and serious detriment were related to the Home Standard. These, it said, were particularly in relation to the repairs and maintenance service provided by registered providers, and their compliance with statutory health and safety requirements across a range of areas, including fire safety, gas safety, electrical safety, lifts and legionella.

Most common were issues relating to fire safety, which featured in five of the six cases where the RSH found a breach and serious detriment. However it added: “[It] was striking that in a number of those cases, where we considered concerns relating to fire safety, weaknesses across other areas of health and safety were also identified.”

Robust reporting

The regulator emphasised the need for robust reporting and assurance arrangement, and stated that the importance of good quality data “cannot be overstated”.

“The expectation is that all registered providers will have assurance on the quality and integrity of their data. This is the foundation on which all other assurance of compliance is based.”

Commenting on the report, Ms MacGregor said: “The annual Consumer Regulation Review sets out the key issues we identified during 2018/19 in delivering our consumer regulation role and serves as a reminder to registered providers’ board members of our expectations.

“It also reinforces that well-run and well-governed organisations need to have systems in place to listen to and engage with tenants, and to take prompt and effective action when tenants may be at risk.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/20/residents-grenfell-cladding-tower-block-threatened-developer/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw

Housing association nails tenants windows shut during heatwave.

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/broken-windows-nailed-shut-heatwave-16646867

www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/flats-residents-are-living-in-fear-209219/

insidecroydon.com/2019/07/26/mayor-refuses-to-say-if-barwell-was-questioned-over-grenfell/?fbclid=IwAR3GVSf7boyQ8mRIBXOK13kRkjocvXWMEQtzHdk6ViBtdnG7kv8LVVTXOEo

www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-news/bafflement-at-kensington-and-chelsea-councils-reason-for-delaying-fire-door-replacements/?elq_mid=2231&elq_cid=1595179

municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2019/01/29/grenfell-and-the-need-for-a-tenants-voice/

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/tower-block-residents-left-mould-16649743

Thanks for not letting up on this helena. I just caught a few minutes of the inquiry on BBC parliament. Still makes me so angry.

Ta Meglet

www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/grenfell-fire-contamination-tests-tower-16691070

www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/everything-know-after-student-flats-16711209

www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/17824818.man-handed-eviction-notice-raising-fire-safety-concerns-council/

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/13/samuel-garside-residents-move-back-despite-fire-safety-fears?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Barking fire: social tenants told to return despite safety fears

Residents of east London flats say they are being forced back before safety assessments

Social housing residents of a block of flats in east London that was recently engulfed in flames say they are being forced to move back despite safety fears.

All residents at Samuel Garside House in Barking were evacuated after a fire on 9 June. About 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines were dispatched to deal with the blaze. The majority of residents were put in hotel accommodation, while others were rehomed in temporary accommodation.

The landlord for social tenants, Southern Housing Group, has now informed residents that they will no longer receive financial support to stay in alternative accommodation and must return to their flats.

Leaseholders will continue to receive financial support for alternative accommodation until September.

Social housing residents said they were being forced to move back in before safety assessments were carried out by the building control department of the borough of Barking and Dagenham. These assessments are due to start on 21 August and be completed on 29 August.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined but experts had previously warned that the building’s wooden balconies could “accelerate fire spread”.

While some of the cladding has been removed, residents have been told it will take several months for it all to be removed. Though a report in June recommended that the existing wooden cladding on the building be sprayed with fire retardant in the interim, this has yet to happen.
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Twenty flats were destroyed by the flames and a further 10 were damaged by heat and smoke. The worst-affected flats were in blocks C and D, which are largely owned by leaseholders or privately rented. Social housing tenants largely reside in blocks A and B, which were not badly affected.

Peter Mason, the chair of the Barking Reach residents’ association, described the decision to force social housing residents to move back as “disgraceful”. He said: “We will be contacting Southern Housing urgently to protest.

“Although they’ve partially removed some decorative portion of the cladding, the vast majority of it remains. If a balcony caught fire, it would spread rapidly from flat to flat. I don’t think they have removed the danger.

Shaun Murphy, a senior solicitor at Edwards Duthie Shamash, is representing several residents at Samuel Garside House. He said: “We are very concerned about the decision of Southern Housing Group to withdraw financial support for the residents. All this has happened prior to the completion of safety reports due at the end of the month, to be undertaken by the London borough of Barking and Dagenham.”

He added: “There is also the outstanding issue of the recommendation of existing cladding still not having been sprayed with adequate fire retardant. All of this has been ignored by Southern Housing Group in forcing residents to go back into Samuel Garside House now.”

The local MP, Margaret Hodge, said: “It is not right that social housing tenants of Samuel Garside House are forced to return to the block whilst private tenants and leaseholders have until September. These families and individuals deserve equal treatment

“I urge Southern Housing to reconsider. Their tenants must be allowed to stay in their temporary accommodation until further repair works and the next fire safety assessments are completed.

A spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham council said: “Residents are understandably concerned about returning home and, despite our limited powers to intervene as this is not a council block, they have asked if we can assess the block’s safety. We have appointed an independent HHSRS [housing health and safety rating system] assessor to determine whether there are any category 1 or 2 hazards and this assessment is due to start on 21 August.”

Chris Harris, the customer services director of Southern Housing Group, said: “Our priority is always the safety and wellbeing of our residents. From the moment the fire was reported, Southern Housing Group has worked with London borough of Barking and Dagenham(LBBD), the London fire service and other stakeholders to ensure that the people affected could return to their homes and normality as soon as possible. None of the properties occupied by Southern Housing Group’s residents were directly damaged by the fire and so they are not being inspected by LBBD. Indeed, the properties were deemed safe for the return of residents by LFS’s fire safety engineer shortly after the fire was extinguished and residents started to return from the afternoon of Tuesday 11 June.”

Harris added: “At no time has there been any suggestion from the London fire service, the council or independent fire safety inspectors that it is unsafe to for Southern Housing Residents to return home.

Case study

Jacqueline, 52, a social housing tenant at Samuel Garside House, said she has not been able to sleep in her room since moving back into her flat. She sleeps in the living room with the lights on instead. She fears the block is not safe to live in, but said her social housing provider has left her with no other option.

“If anything happens, I need to know I can get out quickly because I don’t trust their system to wake me up on time,” she explained. “I live on my own, which makes it even worse.”

Southern Housing, the social housing provider, told Jacqueline that as of Monday 12 August, she would no longer be receiving financial support to stay in alternative accommodation and she could return to her flat.

“My first thought was: is the property safe? What are we moving back into? I don’t feel safe or comfortable at all but I don’t have any choices,” she said.

Jacqueline had lived in her flat for five years and said she became emotional when she thought about the fire tearing through the building while she was sitting in her flat. While there was no physical damage to her flat, she worried that the wooden cladding, which experts have previously warned could accelerate a fire, had not been sprayed with fire retardant and could take months to remove.

“I know people suffered more than me, but no one gets where we are coming from because they just want people in the flats,” Jacqueline said. “I know it’s not on the scale of Grenfell, but it’s only for the grace of God that no one died that day.”

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/14/grenfell-survivors-housed-in-flats-with-high-fire-risk-report-finds

Grenfell survivors housed in flats with high fire risk, report finds

Campaign group Justice4Grenfell say findings show ‘lack of humanity’ on part of council

Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire are living in a block of flats with a high risk of fire, according to a risk assessment report commissioned by a resident.

In July 2018, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea acquired 31 flats on Hortensia Road, London for survivors of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. The new-build property was bought from a private contractor as part of the 300 homes for Grenfell survivors.

A fire risk assessment completed last month concluded that current provisions were not satisfactory and that the building was at high risk of fire.

The report noted that combustible materials were currently not separated from ignition sources, the smoke extraction system was not working, and that there was no adequate procedures for disabled residents to be evacuated.

The fire assessment also found no evidence that the cladding had been inspected and noted there wasn’t compartmentation of a reasonable standard or reasonable limitation of linings that might promote fire spread.

The report, commissioned by a resident, was obtained by Inside Housing.

Sarah Jones MP, the shadow housing minister, said: “This is yet another example of how neither the Conservative government nor Kensington and Chelsea council have learned the lessons from the Grenfell tragedy. No one should be living in unsafe buildings, but of all people, putting Grenfell survivors at risk of another fire is a complete disgrace.”
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She added: “Two years after Grenfell, 60,000 people are still living in tower blocks with deadly ACM cladding, 95% of council blocks still don’t have sprinklers, and countless more could be at risk because the government has failed to do safety checks on most tower blocks.”

Morya Samuel, a spokesperson for the campaign group Justice4Grenfell said: “It’s obvious that the council are not taking residents health and safety seriously. It’s obvious to us that the council is continuing its institutional indifference and has gone back to a business as usual approach.

“People have been saying the local authority just does not have any respect for the residents of North Kensington. If you can do this to people who have survived fire, it shows the lack of humanity and duty of care.”

The assessment was critical of the “poor” housekeeping in the building’s carpark and the refuse area and notes there are no fire action notices at call points.

A council spokesperson said: “Our first priority is the safety of our residents and we have been working closely with them from the beginning, keeping them regularly informed of progress.”

The spokesperson criticised the fire risk assessment, stating it “contains a number of errors and parts appear to be cut and pasted from other assessments. There are also references to features which do not exist at Hortensia Road”.

The council also said that the building had a sprinkler system, 30-minute fire resistant doors, a firefighter lift for use in the event of an emergency, and carried out weekly block inspections to ensure communal areas were kept clear.

“We undertook an enhanced, Type 3 FRA, on 18 July, the results of which we will be sharing with residents soon. This will include timescales to deal with the issues raised. Many of the issues have already been addressed and we have recently replaced insulation around windows as recommended by the latest government advice,” the spokesperson added.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3672605-Man-who-filmed-Grenfell-Tower-effigy-cleared-after-key-evidence-hidden?watched=1&msgid=89511709#89511709

www.mylondon.news/news/grenfell-fire-public-inquiry-blaze-16824394

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/barking-fire-the-inside-story-63110

www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/sep/27/disabled-children-among-social-tenants-blocked-from-communal-gardens

Social and affordable housing residents are being denied access to the gardens of a multimillion pound west London development despite political promises to ban segregated play areas

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Harriet Grant

Fri 27 Sep 2019 14.23 BSTLast modified on Fri 27 Sep 2019 17.05 BST
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‘He asks all the time if he can play football in the garden’ ... Hamid Ali Jafari, a former Grenfell resident whose father died in the fire, with his five-year-old son.
‘He asks all the time if he can play football in the garden’ ... Hamid Ali Jafari, a former Grenfell resident whose father died in the fire, with his five-year-old son. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
Disabled children and former Grenfell residents are among social housing tenants being blocked from communal gardens, entrances and a car park on a multimillion-pound development in west London.

Guardian Cities has learned that the housing association Octavia blocks access to the communal gardens of Westbourne Place in Maida Vale for social and affordable housing residents in order to avoid the tenants facing the “financial burden” of high service charges. Service charges were originally set by the developer Redrow and are now managed by Pinnacle Property Management who run the private side of the development.

My seven-year-old has a best friend in his class who lives on that private side. They sit in school together but can’t play together
Ahmed Ali
Redrow’s original plans for the luxury flats, as approved by Westminster council, appear to show open access to the gardens for all who lived there. The plans are now the subject of an enforcement investigation by council officers. Redrow – who have now sold the freehold – marketed the homes, which were sold at around £750,000 as “statement living at its best”.

A fob-controlled gate stops social and shared ownership residents entering the gardens, while private owners have fobs which allow access across the whole development.

The affordable and social residents, who pay over £200 a month service charge per home, have told the Guardian they feel the situation is unjust and discriminatory. One family with a disabled child say they have been fighting for much needed parking access from Pinnacle for several months

The news comes despite widespread outrage sparked by a Guardian Cities investigation in March that discovered children living in social housing in Lambeth were banned from using a communal play area. After follow-up stories revealed the full extent of the problem across London, mayor Sadiq Khan announced a ban on segregated playgrounds in all future developments, describing them as morally unacceptable. The then-housing minister, James Brokenshire, announced he would like to see all forms of housing segregation driven out across Britain.

Hamid Ali Jafari lost his 82-year-old father, Ali Yawar Jafari, in the Grenfell Tower blaze. Together with his mother, wife and baby son, he was rehoused into the then newly built Westbourne Place. He is not allowed to use the large garden overlooked by his flat, and is desperate to move before his son gets older.

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“He asks all the time if he can play football in the garden,” Jafari said. “Luckily he is only five so I can try to distract him and say we should play somewhere else. If he was a bit older he would know what was really happening.

“It’s just very disappointing, to be honest, to live like this. I am already suffering with depression from what I went through at Grenfell.”

His neighbour Ahmed Ali has been complaining for several months to Westminster council, Redrow, Pinnacle and Octavia about the segregation.

“My seven-year-old has a best friend in his class who lives on that private side,” Ali said. “They sit in school together but can’t play together. Private residents have access to everything, they can use all the gates and they walk through our side all the time, they exercise their dogs over here. This is open discrimination. We work, we pay service charges, we pay rent, we don’t deserve to be treated like this.

Ali’s younger son is seriously ill with a life-threatening condition and Ali has to make regular trips to the local paediatric intensive care unit.

“I’ve told them about my seriously ill son but Pinnacle [which manages the private side of the development] won’t let me park on site or let me come in the main entrance, which is nearer the street disabled bay. Instead I have to carry my sick child in the rain and cold all the way round the building.

One mother, whose children were playing in the small area allocated to social housing residents, said the way private owners can move freely through the social housing side is unjust. “The private residents are allowed to walk through here, they bring their dogs into our play area and let them off the leash, but we aren’t even allowed to walk through there,” she said.

The Guardian asked Octavia if they have made any attempts to negotiate lower service charges or better access for its tenants. A spokesperson replied that although they did not know what the extra cost would be, they did not want to impose a burden on their residents, saying: “The running costs at this development are quite high, as they are with many new developments of this type.

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“Access for our residents to the private sale part of the development and the parking area was not part of the offer from the developer and it was not sought in our lease negotiations, as it would have put an added financial burden on all residents in terms of service charge costs. Keeping costs like this down contributes to making housing more affordable. We are challenging the current access arrangements to parking with the management agents.”

Between them the affordable and social homes are paying around £36,000 a year in service charges. Ali and his neighbours say they have offered to pay extra to use the garden but had no response. They have not been given any information on what the garden costs to maintain

In a statement, the deputy mayor of London, James Murray, reiterated Khan’s view that service charges should not be used to segregate residents from communal gardens or play areas.

Any designs that divide communities – from segregated spaces to poor doors and exorbitant service charges – have no place in our city
James Murray
“Segregation has no place in London,” Murray said. “Developers considering any form of separation or distinction between social and private housing need to realise their position is morally unacceptable. Any designs that divide communities – from segregated spaces to poor doors and exorbitant service charges – have no place in our city.”

Councillor Adam Hug, leader of the Labour group in Westminster, said the council had been under the impression at planning stage that all residents would have access across the site. “My argument is that the onus is on the developers, Redrow, in this situation,” he said. “If they are setting the service charge too high for Octavia to allow access then I believe that is a breach of the original planning permission that shows open access.

Redrow, which posted profits before tax of £380m in 2018, and which advertised the site as “a distinguished collection of 49 luxury residences” said that the decision to segregate the site by tenure lay with Octavia, who wanted to keep costs down

Mark Parker, regional managing director for Redrow in London, said: “We strive to create inclusive developments and work closely with the managing agent in the early stages and assess their recommendations on service charge levels for residents. We always endeavour to keep charges as low as possible for all parties.

“This particular block … is owned and controlled by Octavia Housing. Octavia sought to minimise service charges by specifying the areas that their residents would require access to within the development.”

“We no longer own the freehold of this building. Residents should raise their concerns with the managing agents concerned and Octavia Housing.”

Pinnacle, which manages the private side of the site, including parking, said in a statement: “We manage the development [on behalf of Westbourne Place Management Company Ltd] in accordance with the provisions set out in the leases which were agreed between Octavia and Redrow Homes prior to completion.”

Westminster Council has opened a planning enforcement investigation to examine whether Redrow are in breach of the original planning permissions.

• After publication, Octavia supplied the following statement: “Our position is that we would very much like our residents to have access to those gardens and we think it is wrong that they are restricted in this way. This is not a result of a decision we have made. It is a result of a decision taken at some point in the development of the scheme.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3702945-Gardens-not-accessible-to-social-tenants