Home
Page

Safety is Too Expensive

Rydon, a big construction firm, was signed up to build and design the new-look Grenfell Tower, despite having no design team.

Rydon had badly wanted the contract and despite entering a higher bid than it intended they were still awarded the contract if they could cut costs.

Part of the answer was to use cheaper cladding which the council and the tenant management organisation, which managed Grenfell Tower, were happy with as it would save £293,368.

Comment

Perhaps they were all happy because it was not them who decided to use sub-standard cladding but Brandon Lewis the then Housing Minister who declared that using safe cladding was too expensive.

When Boris Johnson wasted £50m on a "fly by night" scheme to build a bridge across the Thames in London that was OK but to spend a small amount of money on making a block of flats, with no sprinkler system or fire escapes, safe there was no money forthcoming.

Oops sorry, it is what we voted for.

Daily Telegraph - November 16th 2020