PATRICK GRAFTON-GREEN: Concerns about fire safety in the 24-storey building in west London have been raised for years and were not investigated during a renovation which was completed in May 2016, the residents claim.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which manages the council’s housing stock, the local council and construction firm Rydon, which carried out an £8.6m refurbishment project in May 2016, have all been criticised.
Rydon carried out the project to modernise the outside of the building, and it saw new cladding and windows installed.
David Collins, of Grenfell Tower residents association, told the BBC: “We repeatedly reported concerns to the tenant management organisation of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, including fire safety concerns, which were not investigated during the regeneration works.
“Concerns over locations of boilers, concerns about escape, concerns about fire escape lighting, the list goes on.
“I spoke to Nick Paget-Brown [Kensington and Chelsea Council leader], I spoke to councillors and they refused to investigate.
“They wouldn’t believe the residents were concerned. 90 per cent of residents signed at independent petition asking to there to be an investigation into the organisation that runs this building because they were so incompetent and the council turned it down.
“68 per cent of residents felt they had been threatened, harassed, pressured or bullied by the same organisation or by the contractors doing the work.
“I personally had someone come round and threaten me at my own door, so that was the conditions we were dealing with, and they didn’t listen to our concerns.”