Monday 19 April 2021, 4:47pm. Such failures were not a new phenomenon but part of a pattern of governance failure in similar organisational structures. John Kieran, a resident of Bray House, said his concern was not the cause of the fire in Grenfell or Rydons standards. The handback took place on 1 March 2018. The fire speaks to the failure of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the wealthiest boroughs in the country, to adequately regulate social housing. The borough has a high level of evictions and resulting homelessness from private renting. WebKensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) is inviting three organisations to submit a tender for the provision of site supervision and monitoring Tenant Management Organisations are small, tenant-led organisations that take on a number of landlord functions from local councils. The Director of Housing proposed a borough-wide TMO that kept the housing department intact. /F1 16 0 R I had a sense that the people in the TMO and RBKC looked down on the residents of Grenfell Tower and were brushing us off, he said. /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. In 2012, Studio E Architects proposed zinc cladding with a mineral-rich fire-retardant polyethylene core, a decision approved by residents, according to planning papers. The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was established on 1 April 1996, when it assumed management of 9,760 properties from the council. /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] 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. Grenfell Towers landlords appeared to have a reactive approach to maintenance dating back to a report in 2013, a public inquiry has heard. /CropBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] endobj Documents show contractors were asked to fit aluminium instead of more fire-resistant zinc, saving 300,000. /Parent 2 0 R This enables effective governance by identifying and addressing governance risk and providing a construct for evaluating how managements responsibilities fit with full oversight responsibilities. Kensington and Chelsea TMO has previously received a three-star status from the Audit Commission for its services. He added felt like residents of the tower were being "abused" by the KCTMO. The justification for the doctrine of effectiveness is that member states cannot protect Convention rights simply by inactivity but under certain circumstances are required to undertake positive actions to protect rights, even if this requires expenditure. The lessons of Grenfell resonate across the entire social housing world. (KCTMOs responses) made me have the impression that the council would essentially be against the residents because they might think: They keep complaining so we need to prove that we are right,' Mr Chapman told the inquiry on Monday. The aluminium cladding is suspected of having helped spread the fire that claimed at least 80 lives. /F11 12 0 R Edward Daffarn was accused of being "disruptive" and "aggressive" at meetings held by KCTMO during consultation with residents about the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. Kensington and Chelsea council has said it will cooperate with any investigation into the fire. >> Typically, a chain of events leading to the catastrophe is triggered by a breakdown within a structure that fails to address problems as they occur and mitigate risks as they arise. 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. This changed in 1995 when Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) was established to manage 10,000 local council properties. /Annots [] Your email address will not be published. >> Article 2 therefore includes a positive substantive obligation on states to take appropriate steps to safeguard the lives of those within their jurisdiction. This means taking in house the ALMO that can no longer masquerade as a TMO, but all Senior Officers in the Council are under legal orders to say nothing; this includes the Kensington and Chelsea TMO, now with a new chief executive. (HRA 1998, s 6) It also requires domestic courts to interpret legislation so far as possible in a manner that is compliant with the ECHR, and empowers courts to award damages where Convention rights have been violated. Grenfell Inquiry. Artelia, a French-owned company, fulfilled several roles for KCTMO. OToole also said the stay put policy directing residents to stay in their flats if there is a fire in another part of the building conflicted with the advice on posters on the walls on each floor directing residents to go to the nearest exit. /F3 18 0 R /F9 13 0 R In the email to LFB he said: "We believe that the TMO and the council have never acknowledged the possible consequences of this catastrophic power surge and its associated fire risk. It also acted as quantity surveyor primarily to advise on the cost of the project, [and] prepare tender and contract documentation. Most of the residents were working class and of BAME background. I have a huge admiration for Anne and her lifelong passion for community control. /Font << List of Grenfell's It was also the result of decades of deregulation in the housing sector. >> 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. He was a bitter critic of the organisation in the years before the refurbishment of the building and during the work. 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. Date: 6 June 2018. /F4 19 0 R You have to go up another level on the council to find out what happened. WebThe management of Grenfell Tower, including how residents' complaints were handled Central and local government responses to the disaster The response of London Fire Brigade Building regulations and enforcement Remaining expert evidence Remaining evidence from bereaved, survivors and residents Module 1 [ edit] Concerned residents in the Chalcot Estate in Swiss Cottage asked Camden council on Thursday for a copy of the specifications for the rainfall cladding installed by housing contractor Rydon 11 years ago. >> Andrew Kinnier QC, for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, said that a document in 2013 viewed the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), as having a reactive approach to maintenance built more on compliance rather than breakdown. Each of the organisations that was involved in the management and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower was subject to a specific professional regulatory framework. To replace the windows, they would have had to put up scaffolding, and they didnt want to spend the money., In nearby Hazelwood Tower, also run by KCTMO, Jean Dumas, an architect, works in a ground floor office of Trellik Design Studio. 6 0 obj [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]. [8], Membership is open to any named tenant or leaseholder of a property owned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea who is over the age of eighteen.[9]. We recognise our responsibility to ensure that the investigative process is not hampered or undermined in any way.. In April 1996 it had sub-contracted the management of its entire social housing stock to a private entity, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). /Filter /FlateDecode The Labour councillor Robert Atkinson told BBC Radio 4s Today programme the brief session had descended into utter chaos, adding: I am ashamed of the way in which the council proceeded. All rights reserved. [6] Labour councillor and now MP, Emma Dent Coad was a council-appointed board member from 2008[7] to 31 October 2012. 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. /F8 11 0 R /XObject << 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. The TMO was set up on 1 April 1996,[1] under the UK Government's Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 1994. Where a violation of the substantive positive obligation namely, the state being obliged to institute and maintain an effective system of deterrence against the threat to life in Article 2 is established, compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage are in principle possible as part of the range of redress available. /Xi1 24 0 R Read about our approach to external linking. To accept cookies, click continue. x\s6_kgX9zqD3=m'%=o?` RMg9oo X|YejwUSq|,~Z,^bj;,i"22|{dl[yo~U27KO 1s7U>\$*d,`_pW4 (H4_f,MP,)f. The Kensington and Chelsea borough-wide TMO, formed in the 1990s, is known by tenants locally around Grenfell Tower as a fake TMO. /F9 13 0 R It was its agent with a duty to coordinate the development of the requirements for the project with the client and their professional advisers, and to act as the contract administrator. The police were not transparent about the Grenfell death toll: why does it matter now? 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. << (modern). However, it was replaced in 2014 with cheaper aluminium cladding with a polyethylene core which has since proved combustible in government tests. >> The Grenfell Tower fire has become an iconic symbol of the catastrophic events that can occur if there is a failure of corporate governance. When it became an ALMO in 2002, the government was at first insisting on its losing its tenant majority on the board. /Version /1.4 As secretary of the Grenfell Tower Leaseholders Association (GTLA), he had raised concerns about bare gas pipes being run through the stairwell of the building the only fire escape during recent upgrade works. Until April 2015, Artelia was also a key project adviser on construction health and safety risk management matters. /Font << [15] In the aftermath of the disaster, KCTMO has been further criticised for appealing to the public for donations to support the victims, despite giving no indication that it is donating to them itself. The residents were also alarmed by the findings of a fire risk assessment which they obtained after repeated emails. Following the fire, The Grenfell Tower Inquiry was established to establish the cause and origin of the fire and in a second phase to examine the buildings refurbishment and external cladding, examining key issues related to the responsibility for maintaining the safety of the building and the residents. The number of companies and organisations that Scotland Yard detectives investigating the disaster know so far to have played a role in the refurbishment is more than 60. (modern). How to cite this blog post (Harvard style), Nadj, Daniela. OToole, who also lives in Burnham House, said he was reassuring tenants that the building is safe because there was a fire in a 10th-storey flat in a neighbouring block two years ago which was contained. % The public inquiry into the June 2017 disaster is now looking at issues surrounding social housing management, including risk assessment and handling of tenants complaints. [The KCTMO] responded they sent up surveyors, but nothing was ever done. Through austerity cuts, since 2015 financial support for tenant training has gone, and there has been little interest in TMOs. WebThe Kensington and Chelsea borough-wide TMO, formed in the 1990s, is known by tenants locally around Grenfell Tower as a fake TMO. By the time the blaze had been extinguished 72 residents were dead and an additional 70 others were injured. It was not a TMO, because the tenants could not take on the complex task of running the whole of the boroughs near 10,000 unit housing stock. What is the actual purpose of this TMOs? /Parent 2 0 R London. I stopped paying my rent in protest because my windows were falling off. The ECHR must be interpreted in the light of its object and purpose. /MediaBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] When a catastrophic event occurs, it is generally too simplistic to attribute blame to a prime cause or specific event. Critics of the public-private partnership, or PPP, management hand-off claim that the quasi-privatised TMO arrangement is rife with corruption, including sweetheart deals to /F4 19 0 R /Count 5 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. In many ways the organisation that now exists is the product of central government policy without which the entire housing stock would have remained under direct council control. Mr Collins was one of a number of people who joined a residents group called Grenfell Community Unite, but staff at KCTMO refused to meet them. The resident-led board has an ongoing role in scrutinising the delivery of services under the MMA, as well as ensuring ongoing assistance to the public inquiry and criminal investigation. It was set up to cover the whole borough and simply took on the existing council housing department and stock. As well as the recent fire in Adair Tower, he said, there had been another one two months ago in nearby Trellick Tower, which is run by the same landlord. The correct lesson is that user control of governance does not in itself secure user empowerment. All rights reserved. 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. /Type /Page There are smoke alarms, but no fire alarms in the building, said one tenant, who did not want to be named. They negotiate a management agreement with their council landlord to take on limited, local responsibilities, paid for out of an allowance from their rents. << Grenfell Tower fire: six victims provisionally identified, say police latest updates, High-rise towers are safe but tougher inspections needed, say experts, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Is not the answer for the community to take complete control themselves either through a self-financing TMO (a proper one) in the mould of Leathermarket JMB in Southwark, or a community controlled housing association such as WATMOS (Walsall/Lambeth)? The Council at the same time cut the Council Tax of the highest band of tax-payers. >> And most significantly the Council signed off on a refurbishment contract with the contractor Rydon, which wrapped the tower in highly flammable ACM cladding in a drive to save cost. 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. /Rotate 0 Minutes of a progress meeting on 15 July 2014 attended by representatives of KCTMO, its project agent, Artelia, and Rydon, the contractor, suggest that the concerns they raised did not relate to safety but design issues, including the colour. It did not comment on the Chalcot Estate. The National Federation of TMOs, with several hundred members, is shaken to the core by the fire and its aftermath. He was told the work would have no impact on emergency access, but he was not reassured because vehicles continued to take up the emergency bays - he felt, with management approval. /F8 11 0 R Sorry but that assertion that Anne Power was not fully correct sucks, sucks very badly. /Contents 29 0 R There are also no sprinklers in the building, something residents also complained about in Grenfell. 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. On the 14th of every month, the community around Grenfell gathers to remember those whose lives were lost on the night of the fire. The TMO has a board comprising eight residents, four council-appointed members and three independent members. >> /XObject << >> WebAt our core, GK Real Estate is an entrepreneurial, opportunity-driven organization. A fire at the Grenfell Tower block in west London in June 2017 claimed 72 lives. /F7 9 0 R I still suffer from PTSD. Since the [KCTMO] took over from the council, they have made it worse.. The fire was a foreseeable consequence of collective political inaction to regulate health and safety in tower blocks. /F5 20 0 R << However, examining the multiple failings shows that when key decision-making organisations failed to meet their obligations under the framework, there were few consequences. /F9 13 0 R The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. (2019). Shirley Phillips, 72, who lives on the second floor in a neighbouring block, said: I am worried, but is worrying going to help? She had read on Facebook that one of the tenants wants everyone to rally around and call for the cladding to be removed. >> /Type /Catalog /F12 15 0 R /Parent 2 0 R Lees comment gives some of the background. Ms Jevans said she did not recall the suggestion that there appeared to be a lack of detail in relation to the planned preventative programme at the time. /F1 16 0 R He emailed London Fire Brigade (LFB) in March 2014 warning that "if there was a major fire in Grenfell Tower and fire brigade access ever became an issue we would use the evidence recorded on our blog and in extensive email correspondence to ensure that those in charge at the TMO (Tenant Management Organisation) would face extremely serious consequences". Kensington and Chelsea, following budget cuts, was quick to close day care centres, local libraries, and direct services, including the repair budget of KCTMO. /MediaBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] /F10 10 0 R This could form an ongoing violation of Article 2 of the ECHR, even in a domestic court of law. This allows decision makers to focus on the relevant and appropriate issues and prioritize their time and resources. I was chasing them for three and a half years. 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. Image obtained from https://www.grenfellunited.org/. >> He opened his front door last October to find the stairwell full of thick smoke. The KCTMO tenant involvement failure as I see it was a matter of the numbers. 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. The Human Rights Act 1998 requires public authorities to act in a manner that is compatible with the Convention rights set out in section 1. In one reply, residents were told KCTMO had been assured recent works were safe by the London Fire Brigade and the National Grid. 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. /Xi2 14 0 R KCTMO was set-up as a means of escaping the threat of the (Conservative) governments Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) regime in 1996. We tried every way we could possibly find to get a voice and be heard, he said. On 14 June 2017 a large fire engulfed Grenfell Tower, a 24-floor, 120-flat block managed by KCTMO. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) over-ruled the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) to have Leadbitter the original contractor lined up to refurbish Grenfell Tower replaced and the job re-procured, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard. My point is this: it is a serious and dangerous error to draw the lesson that KCTMO was not really a TMO.. They range from around 100 to 1500 rented properties in a single estate or area. Mr Kinnier said that a full review of the property policy arrangements was recommended in the 2013 document. /Im58 40 0 R They should have spent some of that money., Jose del Faria, 53, lives on the 11th floor of Adair Tower. Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell fire on 14 June 2017. Setting up KCTMO allowed tenants to take on responsibility for housing management, but the scale of responsibility was immense and contentious. Artelia replied with three options including that fully cassette-fixed cladding would save 293,368. /F6 21 0 R << 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. >> /MediaBox [0.0 0.0 595.2 857.28] /F5 20 0 R /Type /Page Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation opening statement. /Im31 26 0 R 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. << The Council seems deaf. stream /F3 18 0 R 2023 BBC. Additionally, the knowledge accumulated through the previous arrangements was not retained within the new corporate body: priorities changed, partly through the perception that tenant involvement conferred sufficient legitimacy on decision making, partly as the priorities of the management team changed and partly because of the increased scale of responsibility delegated to a small and inexperienced organisation. KCTMO declined to comment on the material swap. This blog post discusses the conditions of corporate governance failure within the network of stakeholders in the context of the management and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The chief executive of KCTMO, Robert Black, stood down on Friday to concentrate on assisting with the investigation and inquiry. /F6 21 0 R /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI]
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kensington and chelsea tenant management organisation grenfell