Grenfell Landlord Boss Told Colleagues To Ignore Resident’s Warning

The chief executive of Grenfell Tower’s landlord body told colleagues to ignore a resident who warned eight months before the fire that “only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord”. Robert Black, who led the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, told a colleague with responsibility for fire safety “we should do nothing” after Ed Daffarn, a 16th-floor resident, posted on a blog in November 2016 a prediction that: “Only an incident that results in serious loss of life ... will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation.” Read more on the Guardian website.

Grenfell landlord boss told colleagues to ignore resident’s warning | Grenfell Tower inquiry | The Guardian 

KCTMO Chief Executive ‘Bullied’ Grenfell Councillor Out Of Meeting

Judith Blakeman, an opposition councillor whose Notting Dale ward covers Grenfell Tower, described how she was thrown out of the meeting of the council’s Housing and Property Scrutiny Committee (HSPC), of which she was a member. Held on 11 May 2016 – just over a year before the deadly fire – the behind-closed-doors meeting was due to consider an internal review of the Grenfell Tower project produced by Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). Ms Blakeman emailed fellow members of the HSPC outlining her concerns about the review, including questions over the small number of resident complaints it reported. Read more on Inside Housing.

Inside Housing - News - KCTMO chief executive ‘bullied’ Grenfell councillor out of meeting, inquiry hears

Grenfell Tower Landlord ‘Blocked Staff Access To Residents’ Blog’

Grenfell Tower’s landlord blocked staff computers from accessing a residents’ blog which raised concerns about the building’s refurbishment and warned of a potentially disastrous fire, the inquiry into the 14 June 2017 blaze has heard. The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) considered the Grenfell Action Group blog “scaremongering and potentially frightening to the residents”. It blocked access to it on its servers so staff working on the project could not view posts from around 2013 onwards. Read more on the Guardian website.

Grenfell Tower landlord ‘blocked staff access to residents’ blog’ | Grenfell Tower inquiry | The Guardian

KCTMO Director Claims He Was Never Told To Hand Over Grenfell Notebooks

A key witness in the Grenfell Inquiry who submitted personal notebooks as evidence just two weeks ago has claimed that he was never advised to hand them over at an earlier stage. it was revealed that Peter Maddison, former director of assets at Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), had submitted personal notebooks to the inquiry covering the period between January 2013 and May 2017, more than three years after the fire. Questioned on why he had not submitted the notebooks earlier, Mr Maddison said that he had told KCTMO’s legal advisors, Kennedys, that he had a number of books in his possession but was not advised to hand them over. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/kctmo-director-claims-he-was-never-told-to-hand-over-grenfell-refurbishment-notebooks-68332

Director At Grenfell Tower TMO Describes How Fatal Cladding Saved £800,000

A director at the landlord of Grenfell Tower has apologised for the “devastating” fire after he described his role overseeing hundreds of thousands of pounds in cost savings relating to combustible cladding installed on the council block. Peter Maddison, director of assets and regeneration at the Kensington and Chelsea tenants management organisation (TMO), was close to tears at the end of his testimony to the public inquiry into the tragedy when he said sorry. “Knowing what I know now there is no way we would ever have clad that building in anything that was flammable,” he said. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/26/director-at-grenfell-tower-tmo-describes-how-fatal-cladding-saved-800000

Police ‘Will Review’ Destruction And Withholding Of Grenfell Evidence By KCTMO

Police will consider whether a crime has been committed after a witness to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry admitted to binning records relating to the building’s refurbishment a year after the fire. Claire Williams, who was project manager for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment at Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), revealed at the witness stand that she had binned the notes despite being aware of the public inquiry and police investigation. She told the inquiry that she was “just clearing her desk”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/police-will-review-destruction-and-withholding-of-grenfell-evidence-by-kctmo-68255#:~:text=Police%20'will%20review'%20destruction%20and%20withholding%20of%20Grenfell%20evidence%20by%20KCTMO,-News20%2F10&text=Police%20will%20consider%20whether%20a,a%20year%20after%20the%20fire 

Grenfell Tower Landlord Had 'Secret' Meeting On Cost Cutting, Inquiry Told

The Grenfell Tower landlord held a secret meeting to cut refurbishment costs – including discussing the switch to cheaper cladding – despite being warned by lawyers that it would break procurement law and could void the main contract, the public inquiry into the disaster was told. David Gibson, head of capital investment at the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which operated the council tower block for its owner, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, organised a “secret” and “offline” meeting with the contractor Rydon in which they agreed more than £800,000 in savings, he told the inquiry. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/15/grenfell-tower-landlord-had-secret-meeting-on-cost-cutting-inquiry-told 

KCTMO Director Only Asked Architect About ‘Cost’ And ‘Appearance’ Of ACM

The landlord responsible for overseeing the Grenfell Tower refurbishment only discussed the “cost” and “appearance” of aluminium composite cladding (ACM) with the project’s designers, rather than its fire performance. In reference to the decision-making process around the type of cladding to be used on the building, David Gibson, previous head of capital investment at Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), told the inquiry: “The discussions we were having were: what does it look like, is it acceptable for planners and what’s the cost?” He added: “Discussions weren’t any further than that because we weren’t expecting to be offered anything that might not be compliant.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/kctmo-director-only-asked-architect-about-cost-and-appearance-of-acm-68208?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Grenfell Architect Appointed Without Being Asked About High-Rise Cladding Experience

A senior client on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment project admitted he never asked Studio E if it had experience of cladding a high-rise residential building before he recommended the architect’s appointment. Mark Anderson of Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) was unable to tell the Grenfell Inquiry yesterday why he had not asked the question despite the inquiry barrister describing it as “obvious”. The inquiry also heard the question was raised by a resident. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/grenfell-architect-appointed-without-being-asked-about-high-rise-cladding-experience/5108444.article

KCTMO ‘Strong-Armed’ Consultant Into Removing Criticism Of Its Management Of Grenfell Refurbishment

The consultant who advised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment was “strong-armed” into removing criticism of the organisation from a report, the inquiry into the fire has heard. Simon Cash, project director at consultants Artelia, said the firm had written a report about why the refurbishment had stalled in spring 2013. It had identified a number of failures in KCTMO’s management of the project.But this criticism was edited out of the version presented to KCTMO’s board after complaints from Peter Maddison, director of assets at the company which managed social housing in the borough on behalf of the council. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/kctmo-strong-armed-consultant-into-removing-criticism-of-its-management-of-grenfell-refurbishment-68120?utm_source=Ocean%20Media%20Group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11879482_IH-DAILY-7-10-2020-GR&dm_i=1HH2,72M9M,8CKJV9,SKB0S,1 

Grenfell Surveyor Had To Handle 130 Projects At Once

The council department responsible for checking the safety of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment was “swamped” with work as austerity-driven cuts slashed staff numbers and the key surveyor was left handling 130 projects at once, the public inquiry in the disaster has heard. John Hoban, senior building control surveyor at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), said councillors had signed off substantial cuts to the building control department piling work on the remaining staff. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/sep/30/grenfell-surveyor-had-to-handle-130-projects-at-once-inquiry-hears 

Consultant Tells Grenfell Inquiry It Was ‘Clearly’ Not Providing Full Clerk Of Works Role

John Rowan & Partners boss says ‘too many experts’ would have been required for it to check building regs compliance. The boss of the consultant hired to provide clerk of works services for Grenfell Tower’s ill-fated refurbishment has said it was “crystal clear” the project client was getting a more limited site-inspection service, the probe into 2017’s fire has heard. Gurpal Virdee, who is managing partner at property and construction consultancy John Rowan & Partners, said he believed that Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was fully aware that it was not buying an end-to-end service from the firm. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/consultant-tells-grenfell-inquiry-it-was-clearly-not-providing-full-clerk-of-works-role/5108179.article 

Rydon Contract Manager Used ‘Essex Boy Patter’ To Push Cheaper Cladding Option For Grenfell

The firm, which was revealed to have hidden the true size of potential savings on cladding to boost its own profit margin, wanted to use a cheaper “face-fixed” system rather than panels which had been cut into cassettes. But planners at Kensington and Chelsea Council favoured the cassette system because they believed it gave a smoother and more aesthetically pleasing look. “I have a gut feeling that KCTMO may go [for] the cassette fixed cladding option due to the perceived cladding risk,” wrote contract manager Simon Lawrence in an internal Rydon email. “I’m giving it my hardest sales pitch as we speak. Come on the Essex boy patter!” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/rydon-contract-manager-used-essex-boy-patter-to-push-cheaper-cladding-option-for-grenfell-67243?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Grenfell Tower Called ‘Poor Cousin’ To Nearby New Development

The Grenfell inquiry has heard how cladding was spoken of as stopping the tower looking like “a poor cousin” to a new school and leisure centre being developed nearby. And the tower was regarded by Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) officers as one of the worst property assets held by Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). The inquiry was told of an 2011 e-mail exchange in which RBKC officers said cladding the Tower could “address the investment needs of one of KCTMO’s worst property assets” and prevent it looking like a “poor cousin to the brand new facility” being developed next door”. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/grenfell-tower-called-poor-cousin-to-nearby-new-development/

Council Admits ‘Serious Failings’ As Grenfell Inquiry Reopens

The second phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which began on 27 January, descended into a blame game among the companies involved in the building’s refurbishment amid a series of revelations. Phase 2 began with Richard Millett QC, lead counsel to the inquiry, revealing that he had asked the companies and the council’s tenant management organisation (TMO) to avoid a “merry-go-round of buck-passing”. However, opening statements from Studio E, the architect; Rydon, the main contractor; and Harley, a specialist cladding firm, began by branding the government’s building regulations “not fit for purpose”. Read more on the Social Housing website.

https://www.socialhousing.co.uk/news/news/council-admits-serious-failings-as-grenfell-inquiry-reopens-64957

Grenfell TMO ‘More Interested’ In Savings Potential Of ACM Panels

Phase 2 of the Grenfell Inquiry has heard that aesthetics was the “principal concern” of the planners involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower – while the TMO was more interested in the savings that could be made by using ACM panels rather than the originally specified zinc. The claim came in the opening statement from Rydon, the main contractor on the tower’s £10m 2016 refurbishment, which involved cladding the tower in panels that Phase 1 of the inquiry concluded were the main cause of the fire spread. Rydon’s statement also alleged that internal emails from cladding manufacturer Arconic knew that its cladding panels were not suitable for use on building facades. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/grenfell-tmo-more-interested-in-savings-potential-of-acm-panels/

Grenfell Refurbishment A ‘Political Nightmare’

Both RBKC (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) and KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) were “obsessed” with the cost and aesthetics of refurbishing Grenfell Tower at the expense of fire safety – creating what the public inquiry into the disaster heard was a “political nightmare”. That description was put to the inquiry as evidence taken from an internal 2013 e-mail within the principal contractor Rydon, which read: “Reading what’s on the internet its a political nightmare, there’s a website dedicated to complaining about phase 1 and the scheme in general. It looks like they have been forced into doing something with the tower.” Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/grenfell-refurbishment-a-political-nightmare/

Anger As Grenfell Boss Is Invited To Speak At Housing Safety Event

A housing boss in charge of Grenfell Tower before it went up in flames has been chosen to speak at a national housing conference on improving building safety, in a move that has provoked fury among survivors. Sacha Jevans, who was the executive director of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which managed the building and oversaw the £10m recladding works that left it compromised with fire risks, has been invited to lecture on ways to “improve risk management and building safety post-Grenfell” at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Manchester in June. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/02/anger-grenfell-boss-invited-speak-housing-safety-event

Council To Spend £750,000 Keeping KCTMO Running

Board papers from the from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) revealed a total of £750,000 would be spent on the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) in 2019/20, with £250,000 being found through the company’s reserves. The remaining £500,000 will be funded directly by RBKC, through its Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget. The KCTMO managed 9,000 homes across the borough including the Grenfell Tower at the time of the fire in June 2017. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/council-to-spend-750000-keeping-kctmo-running-59817?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Report Exposes Extent Of Outstanding FRA Actions At Grenfell TMO

A secret report identified an “excessive” extent of outstanding fire risk assessment (FRA) actions at the former Kensingston and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). The audit – commissioned by Kensington and Chelsea Council barely a fortnight after the disaster – noted was KCTMO’s “self-awareness” of the near 400 outstanding and overdue actions. Repairs were a main contributor to the total, with the audit acknowledging that 133 was a level requiring “considerable reduction”. There was, the audit said, a failure to consider fire safety signage in the risk assessment process. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/report-exposes-extent-of-outstanding-fra-actions-at-grenfell-tmo/