Hounslow flats fail fire safety test

Hounslow is among the local authorities which have high rise flats which have failed fire safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell fire. Council leader Steve Curran published this statement on Friday concerning Clements Court tower in Hounslow West:

“Following the tragic events of Grenfell Tower, Hounslow Council immediately took steps to assure our tenants and leaseholders of the safety of our housing stock. “Following DCLG advice, we submitted a sample from Clements Court tower, which is the only cladded high-rise in the Borough that has used “Aluminium Composite Materials” [ACM]. “We were informed late last night by the DCLG that the sample of the outer ‘Aluminium Composite Material’ [ACM] cladding used on Clements Court tower has failed the Building Research Establishment [BRE] combustion test”.

The way the cladding was installed is different to the Grenfell tower in that the insulation between the building and the cladding is of ‘rockwool’ which is non – combustible and the windows weren’t moved outwards in the refit as they were at Grenfell. The council leader promised that the cladding would be removed as soon as practically possible.

Brentford Towers refurbishment on hold

Refurbishment of Brentford Towers, the six tower blocks near Brentford Football ground, has also been put on hold. While the basic structure of the blocks is sound, according to a report by Senior Housing Development Officer Sonny McCann in August 2015, the exterior concrete is deteriorating. The council had looked at demolishing the flats but as there are 88 flats in each tower, a total of 528, this was not considered feasible. They decided to install cladding instead.

The consultation period over the proposed refurbishment has only just been completed. Katherine Dunne, councillor for Syon ward and Lead Member for Housing has sent out a letter to tenants saying: “As you know, we are at an advanced stage with our plans to re-clad the Brentford Towers. However, we will be reviewing whatever recommendations the London Fire Brigade make in relation to the Grenfell fire, including those relating to insulated cladding system”.