Grenfell fire barrier supplier launches legal challenge against council
A firm whose fire barriers were used on Grenfell Tower has launched a legal challenge against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) in a bid to overturn a ban on its products.
Siderise Insulation said today (19 February) it has “initiated judicial review proceedings” against the west London council to get the ban reversed.
The South Wales-based firm is among contractors and suppliers that RBKC blocked from future projects in the borough due to their involvement in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.
The council initially banned cladding manufacturer Arconic, insulation firms Celotex and Kingspan, and contractor Rydon in 2021. It added more companies to this list – including Siderise – following the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report in September 2024.
However, Siderise said today that RBKC’s decision was “without foundation or justification”.
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In a statement on its website, the company said: “It is clear from the Grenfell Inquiry reports that Siderise does not meet RBKC’s criteria for excluding companies.”
It added: “The Grenfell Inquiry report is clear that neither Siderise nor its products contributed to the tragic fire or its spread, and there is no suggestion that Siderise was not candid before the inquiry, and therefore this exclusion is unwarranted.”
Siderise manufactured the Lamatherm cavity barriers used in the refurbishment of the 24-storey tower, according to the inquiry’s final report.
On Siderise, the executive summary of the inquiry’s report added: “Although there is no evidence of dishonesty on its part, some aspects of its marketing material gave cause for concern.
“It also supplied cavity barriers for use in voids larger than those for which they had been tested.”
RBKC’s ban includes firms that had been “highly incompetent, or conducted themselves dishonestly or in a way which was misleading when either marketing their products or in complying with legal or contractual requirements”.
The council also said companies that were “not candid before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry” would be included in the ban.
But Siderise added: “Given there is no suggestion in the Grenfell Inquiry reports of dishonesty on the part of Siderise or any deficiencies in its products, the company should therefore not have been included in the RBKC decision.”
The firm said the legal challenge is to “protect its reputation as a British manufacturer which supplies its products globally”.
When contacted by Inside Housing, a spokesperson for RBKC said it “stands by its decision”.
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