In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster (in which a building full of poor people were roasted alive because their homes had been skinned with a highly flammable decorative element that was supposed to make it easier to look at from a nearby luxury neighborhood), local UK governments have scrambled to replace the deadly cladding on other buildings with something a little less fiery.
But a Reuters investigation found that in many cases, these local governments were handling replacement contracts to the very same developers who’d installed the cladding in the first place. The three developers who have won these contracts are Willmott Dixon, Wates and Engie.
The developers promise that this time, they are choosing less flammable materials than the ones they chose last time.
Willmott Dixon and Rydon said their cladding work complied with safety regulations, but did not say how. Wates, Bouygues, Galliford Try and Engie declined to answer questions on whether their work complied with regulations.
“Following the Grenfell tragedy, we have been supporting the relevant councils, and removed the cladding where requested. Our primary concern is to ensure all residents in these buildings are secure and safe,” said an Engie spokesman.
After Grenfell fire, same builders rehired to replace dangerous cladding, Reuters finds [Tom Bergin/Reuters]
(via Naked Capitalism)