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Council building control knew about combustible insulation at problem block
Hackney Council has admitted that its building control team decided the external wall of a high rise it is now decanting was “satisfactory overall”, despite including a non-compliant material.
Forty-one households are set to be moved from Bridport House in order to replace “incorrect insulation” on the block.
The council said the potentially combustible material did not meet building regulations when the block was constructed in 2011 and has vowed to take legal action against contractor Willmott Partnership Homes Limited (WPHL).
But WPHL claims the insulation was “widely accepted” as complying with building regulations at the time it was built and has pointed out that the council’s building control team signed it off. The council now says its current building control department disagrees with the previous decision.
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A report put before Hackney Council’s cabinet on Monday said: “The issue of non-compliance has been rejected by WPHL on the basis that the building was signed off by building control.
“A review of building control records has revealed that they considered the construction of the building and took the view that the composite construction (ie looking at the fire safety of all elements of the walls, as a unit), although containing a non-compliant element, was satisfactory overall, a view that the current building control team do not uphold, and would certainly not take today.”
Inside Housing understands the council contends that the fact it signed off the building does not absolve WPHL of its legal requirement to comply with building regulations.
The council believes the Kingspan Kooltherm K12 insulation on Bridport House, which is timber-framed, does not meet regulations, but WPHL has previously claimed the council specified these elements in tendering for the Bridport House contract.
Bridport House, home to 41 social tenants, has been plagued with issues since it was built.
Monday’s cabinet report said investigations of the block “have revealed that a number of serious errors were made during construction”, including issues with brickwork installation, windows, concrete panelling, balconies, roof parapets and fire stopping.
The remediation project is expected to take three years and cost £6m, plus a £2.5m rehousing bill.
Round-the-clock fire wardens are in place at the block, which has an evacuation policy in case of a fire, while a new fire alarm system is planned for installation in the next two months.
