The move to strip cladding on its Hockmore Tower follows fresh guidance from the Government after HPL cladding failed an independent fire safety test carried out by a private company.
While the insulation on Hockmore Tower is non-combustible Rockwool, the new Government guidance changes the interpretation of building regulations, which prompted the City Council to decide to retrofit.
Housing associations including L&Q, Hyde Housing, Notting Hill Genesis, Clarion and London councils in Enfield, Barking and Newham are also reported to be aiming to remove HPL cladding from 10 blocks.
The Government, which sets building regulations, has still not yet carried out its own test on HPL rain screens – but last week confirmed for the first time that the owners of tower blocks needed to remove cladding consisting of HPL rain screens and combustible insulation.
Oxford City Council was among the first local authorities in the country to remove and replace high-risk ACM cladding after the Grenfell disaster.
Research carried out by insulation manufacturer Rockwool estimates that almost 1,700 high-rise and high-risk buildings have potentially combustible cladding materials different to that used on Grenfell Tower, a large proportion of which are HPL.