/F2 17 0 R /Type /Page It added that many of the fire arrangements have been bunched together and by doing so lack the detail in relation to what the planned preventative maintenance process should look like. In addition, it provides a structured way to collaborate with stakeholders on specific issues with minimal risk of confusion and loss of productivity. Mr Chapman said he feared the fire safety consultant appointed by KCTMO would be tasked with proving residents wrong rather than conducting a proper assessment. 8 0 obj I stopped paying my rent in protest because my windows were falling off. In the early hours of the morning of 14th June 2017 a fire broke out in one of the fourth-floor flats at a recently renovated tower block at Grenfell Tower, London, a social housing complex of almost 1,000 homes. It needs to be more like the Housing Liaison Board we had in Ladywood until the council chose to get rid of it (on bogus excuse) because some people have other priorities than honest effective tenant involvement. Grenfell cladding approved by residents was swapped for Grenfell Inquiry. /F5 20 0 R Trellick Tower is a listed building and at least they cant put any cladding on it. WebKensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation. [11][12], Grenfell Action Group, the block's tenant organisation, had repeatedly warned of major fire safety lapses since 2013. Since the [KCTMO] took over from the council, they have made it worse.. Witness David Collins said the fire safety issues were a product of the culture and leadership at KCTMO. Walking in silence has taken on a symbolic power; it is an expression of quiet defiance in the face of a tremendous amount of injustice and institutional indifference. People need action to restore normal conditions on the estate and rebuild trust. This allows decision makers to focus on the relevant and appropriate issues and prioritize their time and resources. Grenfell residents not listened to /F7 9 0 R Grenfell /F4 19 0 R /F3 18 0 R The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was established on 1 April 1996, when it assumed management of 9,760 properties from the council. Staff managing social housing for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea adopted an us vs them mentality towards residents of the Grenfell Tower in the months before the fire that killed 72 people, an inquiry has heard. Like I am a member of an NHS Trust but that gives me (or even a hundred of me) no significant power. >> /F6 21 0 R >> I think with the letters that we sent and the responses that we got, it just didnt seem to fully address (issues) we were raising, Mr Chapman said. The housing department staff were transferred over into the new organisation on existing terms and conditions, and the so-called KCTMO took over all council housing management functions, making it an Arms Length Management Organisation of the Council an ALMO. Following the tragic fire in June 2017, changes were made which ultimately led to the KCTMO handing back delivery of all day-to-day housing and related support services to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea at the end of February 2018. All queries about housing services should be directed to the Council. Tenant Management Organisations are small, tenant-led organisations that take on a number of landlord functions from local councils. Both products were certified according to the European fire resistance standard. Residents of other blocks run by Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation raise concerns about the safety of their buildings. In an email to the KCTMO on March 20 2017, Mr Chapman said: Having seen these pipes numerous times, I am seriously concerned about how I will get out of the building alive in the event of a fire with this added risk., He added: At the 22nd floor it is a very long way down from the window in the event that after 30 minutes of fire our house is engulfed., In a second email three days later, Mr Chapman said: The potential risk to life and our common assets is without doubt very high given that this GAS MAIN is installed through our communal fire escape.. Green party councillor Sin Berry has demanded a block by block breakdown of the materials and structural plans for cladding used on every single block in Camden, highlighting heightened concern for safety in council high rises across the country. The actual management agreement between the borough and effectively the Director of Housing, who became the CEO of the TMO, is still unclear. The fire started in a faulty fridge freezer on the 4th floor of the 24-storey, 120-flat residential block in West London, rapidly spreading throughout most of the building and engulfing the outside cladding within 45 minutes. Read about our approach to external linking. /F11 12 0 R Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The chief executive of KCTMO, Robert Black, stood down on Friday to concentrate on assisting with the investigation and inquiry. /Xi6 30 0 R Artelia, a French-owned company, fulfilled several roles for KCTMO. London. Among the 200 TMOs nationally, that particular organisation is a total anomaly not community-based, not cooperatively run, not representative. I got my elderly neighbour out of his flat and we walked all the way down the 189 steps. endobj 6 0 obj London's high-rise tenants cite concerns in wake of Grenfell Tower fire Residents of other blocks run by Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management You have to go up another level on the council to find out what happened. List of Grenfell's /Im40 32 0 R /F12 15 0 R It said Rydon would appoint other consultants (to include fire, DDA [Disability Discrimination Act], acoustic, etc, after the main subcontractors are on board. His son, Michael, pointed out that they had been attached with weak glue like the type your credit card is attached to the banks letter [with] and some were already falling off. Kensington and Chelsea TMO was the largest TMO in the UK [3] and unique in having been the only TMO that managed the entire housing stock for the local council. [4] Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the council terminated its contract with KCTMO. Since January 2018, the housing has been directly managed by the council. /F9 13 0 R /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] /F2 17 0 R Rydon, the company involved in the upgrading of Grenfell, reclad four 22-storey blocks and one 18-storey block in the Swiss Cottage estate as part of a 18m revamp 11 years ago. That was the impression that I had at the time, that it was us against them, even though in my view we needed to work together to get this result.. /Contents 33 0 R /F6 21 0 R It is true to say that some lessons have been learnt about potential risks of inappropriate cladding and evacuation advice but there is no evidence that the lessons of the governance failure that led to the choice of poor redevelopment, inappropriate safety standards and the procurement of unsafe cladding have been learnt. [10] In 2016 the chair, Fay Edwards, was awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to the community in Kensington and Chelsea. >> Another couple, who bought a flat on the ninth floor of Adair Tower, said they saw little in return for the 4,000 service fee they pay to the landlord each year. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] The Kensington and Chelsea borough-wide TMO, formed in the 1990s, is known by tenants locally around Grenfell Tower as a fake TMO. Home News. So according to James Lusk here, 8 out of 13 equals the great majority, and having that slight majority board constitutes it being tenant controlled. Not according to Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_and_Chelsea_TMO which states that in 2017 it had a huge total of EIGHT residents on its board of thirteen (the other seven being non-residents), representing nearly TEN THOUSAND properties. These requests were never complied with, the inquiry heard. The document says there were issues which needed attention regarding planned maintenance. (modern). Read about our approach to external linking. The board decided that it would be in the best interests of all residents that the services which the TMO provided were handed back to the council while it carries out a consultation about the future management of its housing stock. [14] At a meeting in January 2016, the residents association presented the findings of a survey which found that 68% of residents had felt harassed or intimidated by the KCTMO or its contractors, and that 90% were dissatisfied with the manner in which improvement works had been carried out. /Xi1 24 0 R There were no alarms and theres no sprinkler system in the building or panic buttons. The windows blew, flames were jumping out the window and there was some damage to the concrete, but the cladding and the insulation held, he said. /Xi11 14 0 R They told us to put wet clothes on the floor. How Tenant Management Organisations have wrongly The cause of the 2017 fire was an electrical fault behind a fridge, although the inquiry has not been able to explain it. /F4 19 0 R /Im22 22 0 R How to cite this blogpost (Harvard style), Muzamil Khan N and Haynes P (2021) The Role of Corporate Governance Failure in the Grnfell Tower Fire Available at:https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/housing-after-grenfell/blog/2021/08/role-corporate-governance-failure-grenfell-tower-fire (Accessed [date]). The KCTMO tenant involvement failure as I see it was a matter of the numbers. A list of amendments to the 9.2m contract between Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) and Rydon, the builder for the refurbishment of the 24-storey tower, reveals that the saving was made after tender by fitting cassette fix aluminium cladding in lieu of zinc cladding. Grenfell was, at least in part, a consequence of the lack of local control; tenants of Grenfell Tower had warned months before of the risk of fire or other disasters because of the neglect of safety by the ALMO (KCTMO). 1 0 obj He showed new notices stuck up in the hallways after last Octobers fire stating: There is a stay put policy for residents unless the fire is in it affecting your flat.. /F6 21 0 R /F12 15 0 R (modern). /Im58 40 0 R Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Trump mistrial request denied in NY rape lawsuit, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, Street piano confiscated as public 'break rules', US rock band Aerosmith announce farewell tour, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, DeSantis-backed board votes to countersue Disney. A spokesperson said: As we continue to cooperate fully with the investigation into the tragic events at Grenfell Tower, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation has to put on hold all requests for disclosure of relevant information. /F12 15 0 R The borough has a high level of evictions and resulting homelessness from private renting. Disabled Grenfell residents 'had no escape route', Government defeated again on fire safety measures, Grenfell residents with safety fears 'bullied', Grenfell Tower: 9 things we now know about the cladding, Grenfell predicted a decade before, memo shows, Woman stabbed to death in street in Brixton, Ant and Dec among celebrities invited to King Charles Coronation as guestlist revealed, Pubs in Highgate that have called last orders over the years, 2023 House of Commons Sitting By Abdul Mateen Riaz, World record crowd provides fitting end to historic Women's Six Nations, London May Day and NHS protests pictures 2023: Guys and St Thomas, Trafalgar Square and Clerkenwell, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests, Fighter jets are roaring over my home in Sudan, Explosion derails train in Russian border region. /F2 17 0 R In sharp contrast to this model, TMOs are locally based, grassroots community groups that want to improve local conditions in their social housing estate or small area. /Font << On the 14th of every month, the community around Grenfell gathers to remember those whose lives were lost on the night of the fire. Central to this is the doctrine of effectiveness, which requires courts to give the fullest weight and effect to the underlying purpose of protecting human rights. Giving evidence at the inquiry into the disaster, Mr Daffarn said he had "spent a long, long time thinking how to describe this organisation" but he "wouldn't change a single word of it. A tolerance was set for fire performance on the project and both products were within that range, the Guardian understands, but the aluminium panels were considered more combustible. They fear their lives could also be at risk if the cladding is found to be an issue in the Grenfell inferno, which has killed at least 17 people. WebKensington and Chelsea TMO ( KCTMO) was the largest tenant management organisation (TMO) in England, managing nearly 10,000 properties on behalf of The correct lesson is that user control of governance does not in itself secure user empowerment. The one managing Grenfell Tower, however, was actually an Arms Length Management Organisation wholly owned by the council, writes Anne Power. My point is this: it is a serious and dangerous error to draw the lesson that KCTMO was not really a TMO.. Sorry but that assertion that Anne Power was not fully correct sucks, sucks very badly. Grenfell Date: 6 June 2018. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] He decided to ignore the advice to remain inside his apartment. ATIC, a lobby group for tenant control, with support of NFTMO and co-op housing groups, organised a meeting where Lord Falconer, the housing minister, was persuaded by Gordon Perry, the then CEO of KCTMO, to agree a special exception for KCTMO to remain tenant-controlled while gaining ALMO status and the associated capital investment. /Xi13 38 0 R The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. And 8 tenants is far too few to deal sensibly with 10,000 properties. Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation opening statement. You are quite right Robin a key problem (maybe the key problem) was a lack of tenant involvement. He said residents had tried to get KCTMO to engage with them on the noise from the upgrade works, poorly fitted windows and the placement of boilers. The correct lesson is that user control of governance does not in itself secure user empowerment.. Fire notice in Adair Tower, featuring the stay put policy. Ms Jevans said this would have been the responsibility of Mr Parkes. /Parent 2 0 R [The KCTMO] doesnt spend enough on safety. The minutes, seen by the Guardian, recorded: Rydon have completed the mock-up for the cladding and it was confirmed that the planners are viewing the colours and fixing detail on 17 July The initial feedback on the cladding, following a walk around prior to the meeting, is that the vertical sections need design work., It added in a post-meeting note: The initial feedback from the planners is that they would probably prefer the champagne to brushed aluminium and they were not that keen on the face fix.. >> The council retains the ownership, a significant share of the rent, and overall responsibility for the properties, including allocations policy, capital investment, major repairs, public accounting and performance. /F1 16 0 R Extending limitation periods in the Defective Premises Act 1972: a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. Andrew Kinnier QC, for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, said that a document in 2013 viewed the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), Grenfell Concrete is a better fire retardant material.. >> Police said they were considering manslaughter charges in relation to the fire as they revealed that the cladding tiles at the building had failed safety tests. The doors were finally opened when the meeting was under way, although those bereaved by the disaster and residents were not allowed in. He continued: I cannot imagine the possible consequences of a fire in this building and as a duty of care the RBKC must ensure we can get out in an emergency, if there is a need to evacuate. [2] Kensington and Chelsea TMO was the largest TMO in the UK[3] and unique in having been the only TMO that managed the entire housing stock for the local council.[4]. /Font << The Council has confirmed that it will continue to fund the TMO to ensure it can continue to do so, and that answers to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry are obtained. The lack of health and safety regulation is therefore a clear a failure on the part of the state to protect the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) 1950. << /F5 20 0 R In the case of Grenfell Tower, a faulty fridge/freezer was the ignition source. Bob OToole, head of the residents association in the Chalcot Estate, said he had received about 40 calls from panicked residents since the fire in Grenfell. Lees comment gives some of the background. In 2008 Juliet Rawlings, chair of the TMO's Board from 2003, was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for her work with the organisation. Id say (fire safety and poor works) are outcomes whether you have a safe building, its all about the leadership and the culture, he said. doesnt it just make it harder to find out who is responsible? It is shocking if, as has been reported, this board then refused to listen to the concerns raised by Grenfell residents, or give them an independent fire safety inspection as they requested. The windows dont work. 5 0 obj /Resources << DeKalb Area Rental Association DARA DARA (DeKalb Area Home - L6 Property Management Such failures were not a new phenomenon but part of a pattern of governance failure in similar organisational structures. /F11 12 0 R The Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, The Role of Corporate Governance Failure in the Grenfell Tower Fire. /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] This enables effective governance by identifying and addressing governance risk and providing a construct for evaluating how managements responsibilities fit with full oversight responsibilities. /Annots [] What is the actual purpose of this TMOs? /F3 18 0 R A key complaint raised by Edward Daffarn in the blog related to concerns that contractors were parking in emergency bays at the base of the tower, preventing fire service vehicles from getting access in the event of a blaze. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. When conceptualised this way, a corporate governance framework can be perceived as a systematic approach to prevent failings by identifying inherent risks and addressing collective actions to mitigate these risks and foresee negative outcomes or potential threats. Of course we are worried. Each of the organisations that was involved in the management and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower was subject to a specific professional regulatory framework. Required fields are marked *. Ultimately, in the case of Grenfell Tower, the overriding objective of the (corporate bodys) governance framework should have been to keep residents safe. However, examining the multiple failings shows that when key decision-making organisations failed to meet their obligations under the framework, there were few consequences. Kensington and Chelsea TMO has previously received a three-star status from the Audit Commission for its services. Asked if she would have made any contribution in ensuring these deficiencies were fixed, she said: I am sure there was discussion in the monthly health and safety meetings. Kensington and Chelsea TMO (KCTMO) was the largest tenant management organisation (TMO) in England, managing nearly 10,000 properties on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council the entire council housing stock in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. [17] In September 2017 Kensington and Chelsea councillors voted unanimously to end the contract with KCTMO, stating that the firm "no longer has the trust of residents in the borough". All power is a trust and people who are entrusted with power must be ready to use it to empower others, Size and scale of responsibilities make no difference to this principle. There was further evidence of the drive to cut costs in an urgent nudge email KCTMOs project manager sent to Artelia, its cost consultant, about cladding prices.
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