The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast

Staff from cladding specialists Harley Facades gave their second week of evidence with some contradictions

The freelance designer hired to do the detailed design work on the cladding told the inquiry he knew building regulation guidance suggested cavity barriers were necessary around windows. But these never appeared in drawings.

The Design Manager said he didn’t consider it his responsibility to check whether the drawings complied with building regulations.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Harley’s Managing Director, Ray Bailey denied that his company put pressure on the architects Studio E to use combustible cladding materials on Grenfell.

Ray Bailey said he thought the materials used on the tower complied with building regulation guidance, which he found confusing.

In other evidence Zak Maynard, a Managing Surveyor for Rydon, admitted the main contractor downgraded materials around the windows of the tower due to an estimating error.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Rydon knew they were in ‘pole position’ to win the tender for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, before the formal tender process had ended, according to evidence given to the inquiry. The Refurbishment Manager agreed in his evidence that Rydon had personal and private access to staff at the Tenant Management Organisation. The tender document gave inaccurate information in the CVs of key staff. Rydon passed on incorrect figures to the TMO about potential savings from changing materials.

Two site managers working on the refurbishment said that they had not checked the fire safety of the materials used to clad the exterior. One site manager, Daniel Osgood, was described by a senior colleague as “a chancer” who tried to do as little work as possible. Another site manager gave evidence about the installation of the windows, which along with the cladding played a significant role in the spread of flame on the night of the fire.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

The Inquiry heard a full week of evidence from Rydon, the lead contractor in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.

The inquiry heard evidence from three of the companies involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The consultant who reviewed the fire safety strategy said he was unaware that the works included overcladding, and no-one working for the contractor Rydon had the experience to check whether materials used in the refurbishment complied with building regulations.

This week the fire consultants Exova gave more evidence. The Inquiry heard how no fire strategy report was ever completed for Grenfell Tower, and that their last version of the report suggested the proposed changes would have no adverse effect on the risks of external fire spread.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

More than three years after the fire at Grenfell tower, hundreds of buildings around the country are still covered in ACM – the same type of cladding used at Grenfell. As Phase 2 of the inquiry restarts after a four month break, we hear from residents who have been living in buildings with combustible cladding.

Producer / Presenter: Kate Lamble

This week Cate Cooney, a former employee of the fire safety consultancy Exova gave her evidence, before the inquiry was suspended due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

The fire safety strategy for the existing building was written by a consultant who never visited the site. It decided that a number of features which didn’t meet current building regulations were ‘satisfactory’.

Presenter / producer : Kate Lamble

This week the architects Studio E gave more evidence. The Inquiry heard how the materials used in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower were chosen and how some of the design features were selected.

Witnesses said the initial selection of the combustible cladding was based on appearance and price, and blamed what they called misleading marketing material for their choice of insulation.

Presenter / Producer : Kate Lamble

The architectural company which designed the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower started their evidence this week. The Inquiry heard how none of the initial team working on the project had any experience in cladding high rise residential buildings, and that the lead architect was not familiar with specific regulations for high rise buildings.

Presenter / producer : Kate Lamble