111 towers fail latest cladding fire tests

Grant Prior 7 years ago
Share

The government has confirmed another 111 buildings do not comply with building regulations following the latest round of detailed fire safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.

The latest tests focused on wall cladding systems consisting of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding with a polyethylene filler (category 3) with stone wool insulation.

A government update confirmed: “The results show this combination does not meet current building regulation guidance.

“111 buildings are currently known to have this combination of materials in their wall cladding systems – 90 of which are local authority or housing association owned or managed.”

A guidance note adds: “Wall systems with these materials therefore present a significant fire hazard on buildings over 18m.”

The failures follow the first round of detailed tests last week on a wall cladding system consisting of ACM with polyethylene filler (Category 3) and foam insulation, with fire breaks and cavity barriers in place.

That combination failed to meet current building regulations guidance and 82 buildings are currently covered in it.

Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Councils will continue to get on with what they need to do to ensure people are safe in their homes. This includes replacing materials on high-rise blocks affected by these fire safety tests.

“The tragedy at Grenfell Tower has clearly exposed a systemic failure of the current system of building regulation.

“The Government must commit to meet the full cost to councils of removing and replacing cladding and insulation systems.

“It is also imperative that this testing process moves quickly to identify what landlords should be replacing these systems with as soon as possible.

“With these latest test fails affecting buildings owned by a range of different landlords across the country, the Government also needs to make sure there is capacity within the housebuilding industry to take quick action to carry out the scale of remedial work that looks likely to be needed.

“We also continue to call on the Building Research Establishment and the industry to release results of previous safety tests, including desktop studies.

“Everything must be out in the open and this needs to happen as soon as possible.”

Latest news

Hadden Construction goes into administration

66 jobs lost at £30m turnover Perthshire contractor
7 hours ago

Tight cost control returns Laing O’Rourke to profit

Group margin back to 1.9% as orders swell to record £10.8bn
14 hours ago

Kier to noise-proof 20,000 homes around Heathrow

Eight-year programme will involve new windows, doors, loft insulation and upgrade ceilings
13 hours ago

Caddick to build £42m Schneider Electric factory

New facility at Scarborough Business Park will open next year
1 day ago

Record turnover but inflation hits profits at HG Construction

Revenue tops £400m for first time but fixed-price contracts hit bottom line
14 hours ago

Speedy HS2 viaduct push cuts disruption for drivers

Balfour Beatty VINCI and Victor Buyck move 158 metre structure over roads in 11 hours: Video
13 hours ago

Morris & Spottiswood expands after M&E acquisition success

Fit-out and refurb specialist lifts revenue over a quarter to £128m
14 hours ago

Barratt, Lloyds and Homes England form JV for large housing schemes

Master developer JV to advance schemes of up to 10,000 homes
2 days ago

Eric Wright Construction books best profit for 12 years

Construction drives growth in more challenging year for group profitability
2 days ago

National Grid fined £3.2m after pylon accident

Worker suffers 40% burns from 33,000 volt shock
2 days ago

Civils contractor Glenevin goes into administration

All staff made redundant at £38.2m turnover broadband infrastructure specialist
2 days ago

Fusion go-ahead for 700-bed Cardiff student scheme

Building works to get underway at the start of 2025
2 days ago

Go-ahead for Salford 568 flat co-living scheme

Contractor talks underway for 42-storey residential tower
2 days ago

McAlpine healthcare MD joins BAM as Northern chief

Mark Gibson joins as Northern regional director
5 days ago

HS2 Align JV completes Britain’s longest rail bridge – video

Final deck segment sees HS2 viaduct break 137-year old record held by Tay Bridge
5 days ago

Green light for major London city fringe office retrofit

Overhaul of 30 Finsbury Square to start next Summer
5 days ago

John Lewis submits plan for £80m Reading rental flats scheme

Construction hoped to start on 215 flats scheme at the start of 2026
5 days ago

Balfour Beatty lands £27m Highlands flood defence scheme

Work to start imminently building river walls in Comrie
5 days ago

Buyers believe construction has “turned a corner”

Residential rebounds, commercial still strong but civils slows
5 days ago

Vistry unseats Barratt as Britain’s biggest house builder

Partnership homes specialist on track to build 18,000 homes this year
6 days ago

23 jobs axed as Lincolnshire contractor goes under

C G Godfrey provided civils and M&E services in Eastern England
6 days ago

Winvic first to use remote-control tower crane on site

Crane driver sits in ground floor command centre at Birmingham 33-storey tower
6 days ago

Starmer vows to ban Grenfell firms from public contracts

Prime Minister to write to named and shamed construction firms
6 days ago

Grenfell Inquiry calls for uber construction regulator

Shake-up must include licensing of main contractors taking on high rise projects
6 days ago

Robertson to restore historic Newcastle market

Work to revamp Grainger Market to start by the end of this month
6 days ago

Three bidders chase £1.4bn Midlands rail hub alliance

Balfour, Skanska, Bam and Laing O'Rouke in bidding for eight-year rail upgrade
7 days ago

Barratt profit nosedives as margin slumps to 4.2%

Fire safety provisions jump by an extra £126m to total £628m
7 days ago

First viaduct completed on HS2: Video site report

Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall finish 163m long Highfurlong Brook Viaduct
7 days ago

Bouygues bags £28m Oxfordshire school job

St John’s Academy to be at heart of Wellington Gate Development
7 days ago

Willmott Dixon wins £49m Wigan college expansion

New campus for Wigan & Leigh College to be net zero in operation
7 days ago

Contractor services