Seven years after the tragic Grenfell fire, Mike Leonard, visiting professor at Birmingham City University’s Centre for Future Homes is calling for a united response from the UK housing industry to the failures outlined in the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report
The Grenfell report released in September outlined the systemic failures of a construction sector driven by a race to the bottom, incompetence, very poor behaviour and inadequate regulation and control.
It is totally unacceptable that multiple buildings over 18m high and thousands over 11m high are yet to be remediated and that this continues to blight the lives of residents who
are hostages in unsafe buildings causing financial and mental health issues.
The failures, of course, run much deeper than might be imagined. The issues start with a culture of cost cutting, driven by a procurement cycle where the cheapest price often outweighs other considerations including quality and, sadly, safety.
The government’s constant war to cut “red tape” has also allowed for the continued use of combustible materials, despite a historic record of disasters dating back to the Great Fire of London. The industry had given the government numerous warnings before 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire.
The warnings, however, did not just come from industry experts. Trust in local and national government has been further eroded by a refusal to listen to the voice of the tenants. The residents of Grenfell repeatedly and accurately predicted the disaster that was about to happen but sadly they were ignored. For seven years since we have continued to play a game of chance, hoping that another Grenfell tragedy does not occur again.
Incompetence and poor behaviour
The rush to privatise building control and fire testing has also exposed the industry to unintended consequences.
The Grenfell Inquiry itself identified both incompetence and poor behaviour as key factors resulting in the tragedy. We should not be surprised that organisations seeking commercial advantage are prepared to work with closely with manufacturers to ensure regulatory testing produces a positive test result.
If that wasn’t bad enough, we have witnessed wholly unacceptable behaviours of those involved in the specification, design and installation of the changes to Grenfell Tower, which changed a non-combustible concrete building into an inferno.
Not only did companies and individuals take on work that significantly exceeded their competence but some also acted dishonestly to win orders, with a total disregard for the life-threatening consequences.
The failures of Grenfell must lead to a permanent change of culture
Action is required now to ensure the end of a culture that resulted in this tragic loss of life and has blighted so many people’s lives.
Birmingham City University and the Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) will continue to work with industry to develop routes to ensure people are competent in their roles and can demonstrate the right behaviours.
We must put in place and enforce robust competency and behaviour policies across government and industry. The risk we still face from legacy buildings must be understood and a plan implemented to remedy and sign-off the affected buildings as being safe and fit for purpose.
We must also ensure we fully recognise and legislate for a resilient future. The risk of horizontal fires affecting low-rise buildings such as the Paradise in California in 2018, which resulted in an even greater loss of life than Grenfell, is real and tangible. The time has some to insist on non-combustible construction in all buildings where there is a sleep risk.
As we reflect on the loss of life, we must fully embrace new legislation and effect a major cultural change, putting life safety and quality first. Our buildings should be non-combustible and resilient to the effects of climate change including overheating, wind, flood and wildfires.
Our thoughts should remain with those who lost their lives and with their families. We must never forget the human cost of this wholly avoidable event.
