The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, which was itself was among organisations culpable for the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, has effectively banned products used in the tower’s refurbishment from being used again on building projects in the borough.
One such supplier, Siderise Insulation, believes it should not be included in this ban and has this week launched legal proceedings to reverse its exclusion.
Siderise manufactured the Lamatherm cavity barriers used in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The official inquiry found it far less culpable than most of the parties involved, but not entirely blameless.
“Although there is no evidence of any dishonesty on its part, some aspects of its marketing materials gave cause for concern. It also supplied cavity barriers for use in voids larger than those for which they had been tested,” the inquiry report said of Siderise.
Criticism of its marketing materials is particularly significant, given that Siderise chief executive Adam Turk has become the guardian and chief arbiter of construction product marketing standards post-Grenfell. He has chaired the Construction Products Association’s marketing integrity group since it was set up in 2018 to rescue the sector’s reputation from fire damage; and last year he took over as chairman of the Construction Products Association itself.
In a statement on its website, Siderise says that it has initiated judicial review proceedings against the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea seeking a withdrawal and reversal of the ban on Siderise products from building projects in the borough.
“It is clear from the Grenfell Inquiry reports that Siderise does not meet RBKC’s criteria for excluding companies,” Siderise says. “RBKC decided to take measures against companies whose incompetence, dishonesty or misleading behaviour had contributed to the Grenfell Tower fire or its spread, or which were not candid before the Grenfell Inquiry.
“While Siderise products were used in the Grenfell refurbishment, the Grenfell Inquiry report is clear that neither Siderise nor its products contributed to the tragic fire or its spread, and there is no suggestion that Siderise was not candid before the inquiry, and therefore this exclusion is unwarranted.
“The RBKC decision is therefore without foundation or justification. Siderise is acting to protect its reputation as a British manufacturer which supplies its products globally.
“Indeed, RBKC has itself stated that certain companies were excluded from the decision because there was no evidence of either dishonesty or incompetence on their part. Given there is no suggestion in the Grenfell Inquiry Reports of dishonesty on the part of Siderise or any deficiencies in its products, the company should therefore not have been included in the RBKC decision.”
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