This post was first published on 19 June 2017 (a few days after the Grenfell Tower fire) and discusses the reduction in expert staff in Local Authorities, which, arguably affects decision-making.
You can find the original post here.
The post was written and read by Tessa Shepperson.
Find out more:
Guardian post: ‘Architects like me know Grenfell Tower fire was an avoidable tragedy’ by Deon Lombard, 17 June 2023
Dr Simmons’s letter in the Guardian, 16 June 2023
Wikipedia Page on the Grenfell Fire
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Excellent discourse: well done: your wording and voice projection and tone was superb. The content was valid.
My own thoughts at the time was that those who chose the gladding ought to have been fined under the Construction and Design Management Regulations (CDM) as they were responsible for the material selection and the correct installation of the gladding. Other things that came to light, a failure to satisfy fire regulations for example, was down to facility management, ultimately the responsibility of the Council. New regulations were not needed, as compliance to the old would have saved lives.
If the gladding had been installed correctly, the fire would not have taken hold. That was the responsibility of the installer and the CDM ‘designer’, i.e. the Council appointed product selector, as part of their oversight requirements.