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The Same Old Nonsense


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I wouldn't bank on it changing the attitude of RBKC council to much. Before the recent improvement works the whole of Grenfell Tower and a number of the low rise blocks around it were provided by communal hot water and heating by a series of gas fired boilers in the basement of Grenfell Tower. After the work Grenfell Tower's apartments each had their own boiler, but the low rise blocks were still provided by the boilers in Grenfell's basement, which is no more. At present their are two smaller and three larger low rise blocks housing hundreds of families that still have no hot water, or gas for cooking. They are being told they do not qualify for re-housing or hotel accommodation.

Part of the London Underground track is still closed because of the risk of debris falling from Grenfell. The track is further away than a lot of the low rise blocks!!!

There was asbestos in Grenfell Tower that was known about and deemed safe as long as it wasn't disturbed!!! Like 9/11 there will have been all sorts of chemicals and carcinogens released into the air around Grenfell Tower. Are they testing the local area yet?

It is a national disgrace.

 

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It won't bring the dead back I  know but someone should go to jail for this, do I believe it will happen? no!  Where was the building inspector whose job it was to sign off this job having made sure it complied with building regs'? As far as  I  recall from my years in the building trade a lot of building and planning regs' were put in place  as fire prevention measures. It was the building inspector's job to see that  the finished article  adhered to the planning permission that had been granted.  Maybe things have changed now. It's a long time since I was involved in that sort of thing.

 

 

Carole

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There seems some confusion as to whether the cladding in question passed fire retardency tests when tested, but wouldn't if re-tested now. And it is being asked if different testing centres used different standards. Apparently, a certificate could be valid in the UK, even if the material was tested abroad. How ridiculous is that? All this is conjecture, of course. Will the truth ever come out? If it does, no-one will end up in jail, you can be sure.

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22 minutes ago, kfurbank said:

It is a national disgrace.

Indeed it is and if the Mods will allow me, I think the most disgraceful part is that successive governments, both local and national, over the space of decades, have been content to create an "under class" which they have preferred to shuffle off into "slums in the sky", where they can pretend the problem doesn't exist any more.

This reminds me awfully of the way the Bush government treated the black population of New Orleans after the floods - and they are still ignoring them now.

It is utterly abhorrent that what is supposed to be one of the most civilised countries in the Western World can seem to think it normal to treat its own citizens in such a casual and indeed reckless manner.

And I mean US, not the Americans!

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If anyone is brought to book you can bet it  won't  be the right someone. A close friend of my daughter's works in the Kensington Council offices and together with some of her colleagues was attacked on her way home by  a mob last week.

 

Carole

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In about 1966, Kidderminster Borough Council were informed that two new tower blocks were, in certain wind conditions, in danger of collapse. This was following a change of regs due to the Ronan Point disaster and applied retrospectively to existing new-builds.

Phill's dad, Harry, was chair of the housing committee. 

First they asked central government for advice, and were told it was their problem, then the committee met and fixed it so that Harry had to make a casting vote, ball his court, as Griff would say.

He was as tense as I ever saw him in the days following, but we had no idea of what was the issue. He wouldn't even tell the committee what he intended to do.

First he got mobile homes moved into all the spare council land, then at 6am he moved the army in and they evacuated all the flats and surrounding maisonettes. Nobody was given time to object and refuse to leave and every family was accommodated at once.

His priority was always people, which is why, even as a Tory, he got re-elected time and again in a Labour Ward. 

There was criticism of the decision as the flats didn't fall down but I think he was absolutely right.

The court case dragged on for years, with the contractors eventually caving in and strengthening the buildings so that they could be re-occupied, ...but boy did it take a time to get that resolution.

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Strange you should mention Ronan Point. It was occupied up to 1986 when it was forensically demolished rather than use explosives. There were a lot of interested "experts" who wanted to see how the tower had fared during its existence who were shocked at how bad some of the joints were and how badly corroded they were. With the benefit of hindsight the same experts reckon that if the tower hadn't been demolished in 1986, the storms of 1987 would have done the job!!!! Food for thought.

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Hopefully lessons will be learned but I feel demanding that heads should roll before a thorough investigation is completed is a bit premature.

If criminal negligence or some other offence has been comitted by individuals then I'm sure a court of law and judge will administer an appropriate sentence.

But the most important thing to discover is what chain of events occurred that culminated in such a catastrophic event.

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